Month: August 2007

Here is another fairly low-res (crappy?), but informative video on our new closet.

Enjoy!

Unpacked from our camping trip, and taking a break between setting up the new closet shelf system, we were sitting outside for dinner- a rare treat between the projects and everything else. “Is that a ground squirrel?” We don’t have ground squirrels where we live, so I turned to look. There, at the bottom of the stairs, curled up like a cinnamon roll, was a tinny squirrel that fit easily in the palm of my hand. Taking a closer look at it, I called up to Doug- “Quick, call Sara! It’s a baby squirrel.” Doug joined me on the lawn while I talked to Sara, who is learning about wildlife rescue. He located two other squirrels, one was scrambling around with his eyes still closed. Doug chuckled because it looked drunk. Sara told us to put them all in a card board box with some rags inside and sit the box on a heat pad, and to leave it until sunset in hopes that the mom would be back for them. She didn’t come and get them, and they made it through the night in the box with a lid in the kitchen on a heat pad, and I took them Monday morning to Greenwood- a rescue place for wild critters. She said that they don’t usually make it if their eyes aren’t open. One of the three had its eyes when we found him, and another must have heard us saying he wasn’t going to make it if his eyes are closed. He must really want to live- he got his eyes open by the time I got him to Greenwood.

The new shelves we purchased we finished putting in last night- shinny new Elfa closet system. The master bedroom’s walk in closet is now complete, and the people at the store in Creek where we got it from said it is a bigger closet than what they normally sell. When we go to sell the house, I want the potential buyer to know that there is new carpet, new doors and handles, new lighting, two full bathrooms although not a master bath, and there is a walk in closet to die for. I want the woman to go bezerk over the closet.

Camping with David and Sara was a blast. They brought Summer, their dog, who is usually shy and nervous. Except apparently when she is out in the wilderness and then she is right at home. She got wet muddy loam from the bog near the spring all over her legs when we got there. Sara loves throwing marshmallows into the flame to watch them expand to three times their size. David hauled a huge rock from the hillside to have next to the fire to sit on. We walked a short distance into the Comanche Peak wilderness area beyond the rancher’s fence. It is gorgeous up there and really peaceful and quiet. We found the perfect way to keep Summer from yanking our arms off in her excitement- attach her to the hip belt on my backpack, and then she can pull my hips along. I think I am going to go back up sometime soon and take a shovel and do a bit of husbandry- the spot we like has been infested this year with tall thistles from some pack horses who had been eating feed that is not weed-free.

Ok, they are off white for now because of the primer color they come as. But, there are no more old flat panel dark doors in the basement. What an amazing difference it makes. Most of the books that we own are on a large book case with 18 shelves, looking more like Masterpiece Theater than anything else. The computer is off the dinging room table and back downstairs where it should be- on the desk. Really, the only thing left is the trim in the main room, the trim in the cats’ room, a white door on the linen closet, some clean up, install closet shelving, and moving downstairs. Yeah… just in time for cold weather. The initial project wasn’t supposed to take this long, but we did so much more than just replace the carpet and paint a few walls.

I was so excited to have my uncle and aunt visit our house on their way back through the area after their vacation. Doug showed them around and told them what we had done to the house and my uncle, who knows a lot about that kind of thing, was impressed that we had done most of it ourselves in such a short amount of time. My aunt liked the paint colors we chose, and one of their sons liked the new curtain closet doors. Afterwards, we took them out to dinner and gave them the pictures from their renewal ceremony, and gave their daughter the Rubix cube she had asked for as a birthday present. It was nice to see them again and to show them our house. Of the people invited from my branch of the tree, only they and Granny have seen our house now, and both groups like the colors, which is good for any future sale of the house. We are so close to being finished with the remodel of half the house. It is nice to have the validation that other people like it, not just us.

We got the pictures back Thursday from the wedding vow renewal of my uncle and aunt. Doug and I were amazed at how well many of them turned out. The lighting was hard to work with in the church, so we had been really worried. Doug shot a roll of black and white, so some of the things he shot turned out really well. There is one that would make a perfect greeting card picture.

On the ongoing construction project front, we have discovered that the old brown doors in their old frames are 7/8ths of an inch, not the full inch. So, if it is supposed to be 24 inches, it is 23 and 7/8ths and so is the frame. Which means that every new white door that is 24 inches going into an old brown door frame… well the frames will have to be re-shimmed 1/8th of an inch so the doors fit. Grrr. Just one more thing. But we are moving right along with base board trim, and there is a room of trim drying right now while I type.

The purple circle caught my attention out of the corner of my eye. I do try to keep a mental tally of what things we have left lying around and where. This was not in that collection and not a cat toy that we purchased, so I walked over and picked it up. Bite marks along the edges told me that it had become a cat toy. But where had it come from?

And then I put it all together- it was a lid from the small canister of kitty treats. Sadie had knocked them off the counter when she shredded the paper towel roll, and the sound caught both of their attention. One of them managed to get it open, and Sadie probably sniffed them and continued playing with the canister and lid, each ending up in separate rooms.

As for the contents of the mostly full canister- gone. There is not a morsel of evidence left. Sprite, not lacking for food, instantly consumes anything set before her, and then steals Sadie’s portion as well. Sprite gobbled them all up, picking up after Sadie’s mess, thankful that they fell on the floor in the first place, as Sadie chased the canister as it bounced downstairs.

Thump! Bang!

I was startled awake by sounds I believed to be not in my dreams. It was just after 5am on Sunday morning in the predawn gray light.

The back door was creaking in the wind. Did I forget to pull it closed all the way and now it was opening and closing, creaking and waking me up?

I went to investigate.

A few steps from the bed, I noticed out one of the windows that the tell-tale signs of wind in the branches was completely absent- it was a still morning.

Creak, creak, thump.

“Doug, Doug!” I whispered. “Wakeup- I heard a noise.” He was awake, and on high alert. I headed to the kitchen.

Thump thump thump, bang!

I scurried back to the bedroom.

“Doug!” I whispered. He had been sitting there on the edge of the bed, listening. “Get yourself in here- there is someone at the back door.” I was too chicken to open the door myself- perhaps another person in pj’s would be better.

He swiftly and silently swept out of the room as I tried to peek out the window but couldn’t see anything. I followed him to the kitchen.

“Can I help you?” Doug asked. He had cracked opened the wood door and peaked outside. I could see past him that there was a bedraggled looking guy standing there in an un-tucked t-shirt and dress shirt and pants with no shoes. He had taken his soaked socks off and they were on our deck.

“Wrong house bud.”

“Wrong house?” asked the confused guy. “Damn…!” He drawled. He began to shuffle off the deck and down the stairs. Doug closed the door and locked it. The nightly round to check the doors has paid off- otherwise lost drunk guy would have come inside.

”Drunk, right?” I asked.

“Yeah.” Doug shuffled back to bed, falling back asleep as he walked.

I laughed. “College kids are back.”

Wow! That was a lot of water! None of it got in the basement though, thank goodness. But we now have a new trenched canal system in our back yard to move water away from the foundation. And gosh if that campus didn’t flood again. Check out pictures at the Coloradoan’s website.

So a few weeks ago, Christy and I started talking about all that we had done to the house, and we started making a list of everything that we had used in our many projects. Well, the list grew and grew the more we tried to rack our brains. What we came up with is shown below, and where it was used.

Item	Where Used
3/8″ drill	All
countless dump runs	All
destructobar	All
drop light w/ 2nd bulb used when you break the first one	All
ladder	All
levels and squares	All
mop	All
mop bucket	All
sander	All
sandpaper	All
shop broom	All
shop vac	All
usefull hand tools	All
1/2″ drill	Construction
boat anchors	Construction
chalk line	Construction
chop saw	Construction
circular saw	Construction
miter saw to replace the now too-small box	Construction
concrete anchors	Construction
concrete bits	Construction
door boreing kit	Construction
door handles(12)	Construction
door jams	Construction
hinge kits (12)	Construction
lumber (lots of 2×4’s)	Construction
misc fasteners	Construction
nails	Construction
pocket door	Construction
pocket door frame	Construction
Room and closet doors(12)	Construction
sawblades	Construction
sawsall	Construction
screws	Construction
wood anchors	Construction
wood glue	Construction
bamboo plant	Deco
coat hook bars w/ coat hooks	Deco
new lamp	Deco
new pillows	Deco
tiki bar deco	Deco
weather station w/ remote	Deco
window blinds	Deco
drywall	Drywall
drywall finishing tools	Drywall
mud and tape	Drywall
texture	Drywall
texture gun	Drywall
ceiling fan	Electrical
coax	Electrical
data and video faceplates	Electrical
electrical switches, plugs, and face plates	Electrical
electrical wire	Electrical
ethernet cable	Electrical
fish tape	Electrical
light bulbs	Electrical
light fixtures (6)	Electrical
low voltage rings	Electrical
6 rolls of 2″ blue tape	Finishing
can’t forget the primer	Finishing
drop cloths	Finishing
miter box and saw	Finishing
oh, and more paint	Finishing
paint	Finishing
paint	Finishing
paint	Finishing
paint brushes	Finishing
paint gun air compressor w/ toys	Finishing
paint rollers	Finishing
porcelain paint	Finishing
squirrel mixer (great for paint!)	Finishing
baby pool	Misc
mop & broom holder	Misc
new screens (6)	Misc
shelf paper	Misc
shower head	Misc
bush trimmer	Outdoor Projects
fertalizer	Outdoor Projects
flower seeds	Outdoor Projects
flowers for Frank	Outdoor Projects
grass seed	Outdoor Projects
motion sensor	Outdoor Projects
mower	Outdoor Projects
rose trimmer	Outdoor Projects
sprinkler heads, pipe, and glue	Outdoor Projects
tree trimer	Outdoor Projects
weed spray	Outdoor Projects
window flower box w/ b-e-a-u-tiful flowers	Outdoor Projects
another bottle of gas for torch when original runs out	Plumbing
copper elbows, tees and connectors	Plumbing
copper pipe	Plumbing
dishwasher repair kit	Plumbing
drain pipe for sink	Plumbing
misc copper and brass fittings	Plumbing
‘P’ trap	Plumbing
plumbing tools	Plumbing
soldering torch	Plumbing
soldier and goup (flux)	Plumbing
toilet repair kit	Plumbing
washer repair valve	Plumbing

The length of the list (and the fact that we either had or now have all of that schtuff) is pretty amazing, so we decided to emblazon it permanently onto the interweb.