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I got out of bed a little after 7AM and it was glorious. The house was quiet when I came downstairs and I was on my own. I just finished up a nice hearty breakfast and I am heading over to church to complete the first task of the day. I have to do some work on our Reader Board out front of the church building. Then I have to see if I can figure out the church website.
When I return, I will go full bore on the garage.
Success! I removed our old Pastor's name and replaced it with our new Paster's name.
NooN: I did not go as crazy cleaning out the garage as I originally anticipated. Nonetheless, I am pleased with the results. I moved some stuff around. I found a lot of crap that is going to the Salvation Army and a lot of stuff that's going to the dump.
The main thing now is that one can easily access the car when it's parked in there and I can get the mower out without pulling the car out.
3:12PM: Since I finished with the garage so early, I got to work on the rail on the front porch. It's amazing how paint immediately improves the look of something.
Here is a section of the rail that I had to sand and scrape and patch.
Here it is after the paint is applied.
This pillar has been looking like this all summer.
It looks much better now. I need to get a second coat on the pillar tomorrow.
I also mowed the backyard and did some general organizing.
Susan is not happy with the ceiling. There is a hump that is barely noticeable but it is all she can see.
I say, if you can't see it in this picture, it's not a problem.
Clearly, I lost this battle. Oh well, it would have driven her crazy if she had not made the attempt to assuage her concerns.
Now we have to wait for that to dry so we 're in a holding pattern for an hour or so. I'm going out to survey the Carriage House.
I'm back from my survey. The Carriage House is a conundrum. I have a bunch of furniture out there that we want to get rid of but haven't. I've advertised some of it on Craig's List but got no takers. I guess I need to do it again and lower the price. I just did that. No takers yet but I couldn't even find it so I'm not sure it took.
Until that furniture is gone, there's not much I can do with the space.
Today is the first day of ten days off for me. I'm not going
anywhere because Susan doesn't have any vacation time built up with her new job. So I'll be trying to do some productive stuff around the house. One project is to clean out and organize the garage. I'm going to do that on Monday.
Another project is to clean out and organize the Carriage House. That will be set for Tuesday.
It's 1PM right now and we are finally getting around to working on the TV Room. We are getting a late start because I had to help Mom with an errand this morning regarding her Sewing Machine. If that is not working, Mom is not going to be happy.
Our first move is to head to the General Store to get some paint...Primer, really. So we'll be right back!
9:56PM: That was a transformation. As you can see from the pictures, it looks dramatically different once the walls are painted.
We are mostly pleased with the results, although the paint has highlighted a couple of problem areas that need attention.
That attention will have to wait until tomorrow.
So that's day one of my vacation. I could get used to this.
I am 62 years old and I cannot learn to put stuff away. I spent a good portion of last weekend wandering around the yard looking for a set of pruning shears that I left not in it's proper place.
I think I left them somewhere in the yard and some late night visitor (a skunk or a scumbag) made off with them. Today I spent and good chunk of unproductive time looking for my air nozzle.
I had to take one of the yard maintenance machines I own to the repair guy today and I wanted to blow it off to clean it up. I can't take the guy a dirty machine. What will he think of me.
Anyway, it took me 20 minutes to find the damn nozzle. It had fallen on the floor.
Susan did another round of mudding in the TV Room. We might be there. She'll know more tomorrow after she sands.
I gathered up all the trim from the room that has been laying on the front porch for over a year and figure out a better place to store it all. I pulled all the nails and wrapped it up in individual bundles and labeled them so I know which opening it previously graced: east window, south hall door, whatever.
I ended up storing them in the garage up in the rafters.
I also performed what has become my Saturday thing, blow the leaves out of the garden and suck them up with the mower. I mowed the whole front lawn but it really didn't need it.
I was working out back and noticed the hops that looks ready to harvest.
There's not a whole bunch up there but it's enough to make a few batches of home brew. Maybe I'll advertise on Craig's List.
It's time this blog got back to it's main mission which was to chronicle the unending remodel jobs we do on the house and the stupid things I do in the course of doing them.
Today, the stupid thing involved the vacuum. As you'll recall, we are remodeling the TV Room. We are currently stuck in mudding and sanding.
While Susan was out doing a variety of things, I got in there and sanded. It didn't take very long and everything looks pretty good, except for the areas that need more mud. That will happen tomorrow.
Once I finished, I broke out the shop vac and started cleaning up all the fine white powder all over the floor. I got the floor about half way cleaned up when I looked at the vacuum and saw a great deal of dust blowing out the exhaust. It's not supposed to do that.
I had forgotten that I cleaned the filter last weekend and had not replaced it. So I spread a nice even coat of dry wall dust all over the entryway, down the haul towards the kitchen and all the way up the stairs.
Stupid!
The guy from A1 Tree Service came by today to take a look at the damn tree. His quote was $2,000.00 to remove the tree, $250.00 to haul the fire wood away, and $250.00 to grind the stump. With taxes, it came to $2,722.50. That's a thousand more than the previous quote so guess who we're going to.
It's time for it to come down.
We are almost to the end of July and I have decided to make an entry. My absence has not been from lack of information to impart. It's from lack of dedication. So there is my apology.
On the other hand, I'll post when I damn well feel like it, so that pretty much negates the apology.
So let's ignore the first two paragraphs and get on with today's post.
We had a weather event last Tuesday where the wind suddenly came up, the thunder and lightning came in and the rain poured down. In the course of the event, this troubled tree next to the garage dropped a good sized branch onto the back of the house.
No damage, no wires came down but it caused a bit of a blockage with access to the backyard. All in all, not a disaster.
However, this tree has been a problem since we moved in to the house almost 15 years ago. You might recall from this blog my adventures with this tree and a hillbilly named Martin. If not refer to December of 2014.
We had this tree pretty much down. All we needed was to cut down the main trunk. But we ignored it and this sickly tree that bleeds down its trunk completely grew back to the size it was before.
I am so angry with myself for letting this happen. I completely wasted the money I spent on Martin, not to mention the stress of dealing with Martin. Now it's going to cost us much more. A quote we got to remove the tree last fall was for $1700.00.
The second part of the day was dedicated to the TV Room. We are down to the worst part of this project. Sanding. Today we decided to use our electric pad sanders. This went much faster but really made a mess. The air was thick with dust and every surface in the room got a nice coating. It was quite a mess to clean up.
Tomorrow we will wipe everything down and shine a light on everything to see where we need to mud next.
I am spending this beautiful Saturday doing one of my least favorite things...running a yard sale.
Today is the annual Corbin Park Neighborhood wide Yard Sale and we have a few things we decided to part with. The main things I was hoping to dispose of are a roll top desk, a chest of drawers with mirror, night stand and headboard and our old barn style garage doors. On top of that, there is a bunch of crap that we have out as well and I've sold bits and pieces of it. It's going to be going to the Goodwill.
I have managed to sell the roll top desk and the garage doors. I'm very pleased about that. Especially the doors. I thought they would be hard to unload because it would take a very specific person who knew what to do with them.
Fortunately, that person came along.
I'm was planning to sit out here for two more hours and then call it quits at 4PM. But I just sold the roll top desk for $50.00 and the only thing left I care about selling is the Bedroom set. Since I don't think that is going to happen, I have taken some nice pictures and I'll be putting it on Craigs List. Enough of this Yard Sale Bullshit!
9:38PM: We have just returned from a birthday party for Susan's friend, Carine. I think she's 55. She and her husband built a house that is waaaaaaay out there in the sticks. Even though I mostly know how to get there, I could not get there again.
I called the Yard Sale a day at 2PM and packed the remaining stuff into a box that is bound for Goodwill. We made about $90.00 and then spent $85.00 on a flat screen TV and a box of Halloween stuff.
It is a gorgeous Sunday afternoon and we are in "Relax Mode". Trust me, we've earned it.
Yesterday we worked in the yard. Susan got the flower beds in shape and I continued a long over due job I started last week. Namely, cleaning out from under the Arbor Vitae.
I don't think they are getting enough water because there is so much debris at the trunk of those shrubs. I just don't think the majority of the water is getting past all that crap. So I have been on my hands and knees raking out the crap.
Today we went to ArtFest down in Browne's Addition. We cruised around for about an hour and a half, had a little food and returned home.
Once here, I cleaned out a mini fridge that Susan nabbed from work and Susan finished up putting some flowers in some flower pots for the front porch.
It is now approaching 4:00 and we are vegging. I'm here typing on the deck and Susan is luging on the couch.
Mark is coming over and Susan reconnected with her old catering work buddy, Pamm. She's coming over as well and we're having beers on the porch.
Tomorrow is Susan's first day at her new job. She doesn't seem too nervous about it but that will probably come tomorrow.
It is the weekend of Memorial Day so that means it is raining.
We are closing in on the one year anniversary for starting to remodel the TV Room.
After many weeks off, we returned to that project yesterday with some intense mudding. It has become very clear that I am a sloppy mudder. I always say that sloppy mudding is taken care of with sanding. However, sanding is very messy and in danger of causing me major respiratory damage. Plus, it is a pain in the ass.
We tried wet sanding which decreases the dust but my mudding, being sloppy, does not respond well to wet sanding. However, we soldiered on and completed the sanding in about two hours.
Next, a third round of mudding and finding the spots that need some extra attention. There are many of them.
But, we are still trying to enjoy the three day weekend. For me, it's a four day weekend as I took Friday off. I was all set to head north and go canoeing on Friday, but the rain put the kibosh on that activity.
So I called my friend Robba and took him to lunch for his birthday.
I also took the time to rent one of the thousands of Lime Electric Scooters that are deposited all around town. I rented it for 19 minutes and it cost $6.00. It's a dollar to unlock it and then 25 cents a minutes beyond that.
It was kind of fun but an expensive form of transportation that includes no suspension whatsoever. If I were to try and take one to work, it would cost much more than driving my car, which I estimate costs me about $8.00 a day. Ten if I include insurance. $15.00 if I include maintenance. Okay...maybe I should try the Scooter. No wait! Having suspension is worth the extra cost.
We are now enjoying a little down time before we go to dinner and then a movie. And it looks like more rain is coming.
I left work early last night to go and pick up film. The clouds to the west looked dark and ominous. I was really hoping to get the lawn mowed when I got home. It looked like I was going to be close.
I picked up the film in the Garland District and ran across the street to check on the progress of our mantle clock. He's been having issues with it so it wasn't just me.
When I walked out, it was raining. When I say it was raining, I mean it was RAINING. Monsoon like rain. I got totally drenched getting to the car.
I made another stop at the Pharmacy and the RAIN continued. I was driving home down the Division Street Hill and there was a current running down the hill. When I pulled up to the house, the intersection was flooded.
Water was cascading off the house.
These pictures don't do it justice because the rain was starting to subside by the time I got the camera.
We get cloud bursts like that occasionally, but this one lasted a lot longer than they normally do.
We had some flooding issues in the basement. Nothing serious but the carpet is damp by the basement door.
We also had some major flooding in the basement at church. I stopped by there this morning and the whole big room smells musty and the floor is damp.
We have just experienced a week of fabulous weather. I turned the heat off a week ago and we haven't missed it at all. With the great weather, we had a productive weekend of re-establishing our outdoor relaxation centers.
On Friday, we got the front porch set up and had our first beers of the season there. You can see by the chain on the floor that we still must lock everything up.
On Saturday, we went over to Mom's and I power washed her patio. Then we moved all the furniture out there and got it set up.
That inspired me enough to come home and power wash the deck.
You can really see the difference from the area I cleaned and the area yet to be cleaned.
I also drained the hot tub...a job that was long overdue. I still have to give it a good scrubbing but that can come later. I'm not sure if I'm going to fill it right away.
Today was Mother's Day so we grabbed my Mother and took her to breakfast. We went to the Monroe Street Grill. Susan and I have been there once since they opened over a year ago and thought it would be a good place to patronize.
We all enjoyed our meals. I had the Chicken Fried Steak which was excellent. However the biscuit they serve it over was too cakey. I like a biscuity biscuit, ya know!?
Anyway, it was good and Mom enjoyed getting out. We got her home and by the time we got home, we were ready for a nap. So from 2 to 4, we napped. It was awesome.
With the deck clean, we used the after nap period to get the deck furniture down from the Carriage House.
Now everything is right in the universe. Almost.
It was pretty warm last night and hard to sleep upstairs. If only I had a way to cool the bedroom prior to bedtime.
Oh yeah. I have air conditioners. So I got that installed in the bedroom and all should be well tonight. I have two more to get in place but that can happen later.
So NOW, everything is right in the universe.
The hops grew about five inches but it wasn't impressive enough to capture on film.
Today's photograph of the day is an annual spring tradition. The measuring of the hops. I placed a strip of masking tape on the deck post and marked it to see how much the hops grows in one day. It is a remarkable number. I think I've measured close to six inches in the past.
We'll find out tomorrow.
Susan ran five miles this morning in preparation for Bloomsday, which is next Sunday. I did not!
I broke out the leaf blower and cleaned off the deck and the front porch.
Prior to that I unloaded a bunch of fire wood. A guy at worked asked if I wanted some free fire wood from a crab apple tree his dad cut down.
The result of my affirming response was this pile of wood. I have some splitting to do, which may start today. (It will not be completed today.)
The rest of the day is ours. We can do whatever we want. We haven't had this luxury in quite some time. It seems all our weekend days are packed with other obligations.
We plan to stop by the Hub for the second annual .6 mile fun run, from The Hub Tavern to the Mosey Inn Tavern and back. I did it last year but missed the signing deadline this year.
While messing around in the yard, I noticed something.
This is as good as this strip of grass will look for the rest of the year.
Actually today may be the day where the house looks its best.
Don't look too close.
It's a nice day out but a touch on the windy side. I'm heading out now to kill some dandelions and clean up after a pigeon.
That's the pigeon I had to clean up after. To be fair, I had to clean up the pigeon from something else that went after it. And the amazing thing is that I am part of the story.
I was leaving the house Thursday evening to go to dinner with some friends. As I walked out the back door, this large bird, perhaps with a 15 foot wingspan, flew right past my head and hit the dining room window at the back door.
I whipped around, and there on the window sill sat this stunned pigeon. It had nowhere near a 15 foot wingspan.
It sat there for quite some time. Then I moved slowly towards it and it took off towards the park.
As I watched fly away, another larger bird (maybe a crow) took off after it. I presume the pigeon was trying to escape the other bird when it flew at my head.
My scaring it away ultimately led to its demise.
I have pigeon blood on my hands.
It was a very nice Spring evening and I decided it was time for another fling around the yard with Mr. Mower. It sure looks more hospitable than it did just a month and a half ago.
All went well and I had a hearty harvest. You can see from the picture that I got artsy out there and cut the lawn diagonally. It's a subtle sign of pure class.
I think I am still mowing more dirt than lawn. It makes mowing a dirty job.
Furthermore, it's a dirty job that requires a beer when you're finished.
I don't have anything worthwhile to post today. I just wanted to continue the theme of PrEster, Easter, and Paster.
Now I've done it and it's really quite hilarious.
We made it to the kitchen last evening and for two hours we peeled potatoes and cut ham. A small amount of peoples did a large amount of workings.
After church, we returned to the kitchen to get our route. We had se7en deliveries heading up Crestline, north of Francis. The route spread from there.
Some people who make use of Meals on Wheels really know how to smoke.
After the deliveries, we raced home to grab the necessities for Easter dinner at Mom's. Susan did a great job of feeding eight of us.
And we have ham left over.
We slept in until 6:45. We had to get up early today to help out with Meals on Wheels. We signed up to help out with food prep at 8AM. Except, we were wrong. We actually signed up to help out with food prep at 6PM. We will be delivering meals tomorrow after church. It's our contribution to humanity. No need to thank us, we already know we are awesome.
So we'll attend to M.O.W. later.
I'm doing some stuff out in the Carriage House and coming to realize that it is time for another gut and organize of that space. Followed by some purging.
Look at all this crap.
It occurred to me today, that I have a bit under three years before I retire. I would love to pull the trigger on now but I think it's better to hold out. I am still able to work and I have to qualify for Medicare to help pay for all my drugs.
So one of the things I want to do, that I can do NOW, is organize the Carriage House and rename it the Art Studio. (Studio for short)
I'm going to plan a day. However, we still have to finish the TV room.
The initial mudding is done. Now we need to do the initial sanding. Followed by more mudding and sanding and touch up mudding and sanding and AHHHHHHHH!
Here is some proof that spring is here. The hoses piled around and the last falls leaf bags are a nice touch too.
I officially opened Mowing Season today and actually got a nice sizable harvest. I checked on line to find out what early spring cut grass is worth on the open market and it appears that it's not worth anything. In fact, I would most likely have to pay to have it removed.
It's been a long time since last Mowing Season but I remember it as a money making proposition. I guess that is the sitch when I mow someone else's yard.
At least I'm on the board for 2019. I have not kept track of my early mows in past years so I have no idea if this is early, late or about right.
