I'm a Lumberjack and I'm okay

I cut down three trees yesterday and two rose clumps. I cannot call them bushes as they were two unwieldy and out of control to qualify as bushes. These trees were small and in the way. I'm trying to create as much light as possible in the yard so the arborvitae can get some growth.

My hops is coming along quite pitifully. I have resigned myself to the fact that this will be a building year for the clinging plants. My grape vines are going slowly as well. Only the clamatis is growing strong. It is up to the bottom of the deck and heading up the post for the rail.

Along with all my Lumberjacking, I rode my bike downtown to catch some Hoopfest action and then went out to the river for a swim. Yesterdays temperture was well into the 90's.

I declare Summer to be here. There! Now it's official.

A Revolutionary Day

The price of gas has spurred me to think and act green. I am coming to hate that word. Everyone wants to be green and make you think they are green. Who can be greener. When it comes right down to it, the green I am interested in saving is money.

Anyway, I rode my bike to work today. This is normally not practical because work is 14 miles away and I am a pussy. But, if I ride the bike downtown and catch the bus, it is a much more attractive proposition...in a pussy kind of way.

Today was my trial run to see how long it all takes. I have pledged to do it every work day for the month of July. I'm not giving up my car. I'm just not riding it to work. The challenges will come when something comes up that requires me to have my car. Will I be able to work around it or will I be forced to capitulate and drive to work.

For now, here is self portrait of me riding to work.

I have some additions to make to my earlier entry. I arrived home at 5:50PM. That is 50 minutes later than my normal arrival if I drive. I probably would have been home about ten minutes sooner had there not been a major slowdown at the Freeway Exit. It took 15 minutes just to get from the exit to the Bus Plaza.

One must take into account the money savings against the time spent. I also must factor in the exercise aspect of this bike/bus riding...which for me is very strong motivation to do it.

Here are some numbers for your cyphering enjoyment.

I figure my car consumes two gallons to go to and from work. It's a little less but let's keep this in round figures. At today's price, that is a savings of $8.00. It cost me $2.00 to ride the bus.

In the month of July, there are 22 work days...22 days where I have the opportunity to ride the bike/bus. A monthly bus pass costs $33.00. If I ride all 22 days, it costs me $1.50 per day.

If I drive all of those 22 days, it will cost me $176.00 for gas for the month. Generally, I spend about $240.00 per month on gas. That's based on $60.00 per week, which is about what I have been spending. So I am looking at saving about $130.00. I will of course, be keeping track of my actual savings. It's going to be all offset by the amount of bike gadgets I buy.

Then there's the whole carbon footprint thing, which I am not going to get into here...because I don't care about that.

...and the Livin' is Easy!

Last night was our Eighth Annual Solstice Party. It was a wonderful time and everyone was cleared out by 11:00 when the rain came crashing down. It poured very hard for about half an hour. Susan and I were on the front porch with our regular solstice Hangers-on, Mark and Laura.

I am sad to say that I had such a wonderful time that I did not take hardly any pictures. I really need to hire a staff photographer next year.

Since the Solstice was the official debut of the new bathroom (even though it is not quite complete) I thought I would show a couple of before and after shots.

This is a shot that shows the new sink and vanity that took the place of a mostly useless linen cabinet. I was able to save that whole set up and it is now being useful in the garage.

Here is a view looking straight into the old and new bathroom. There should have been a sink where the orange bucket is. I guess I removed it before thinking of taking the picture.

I wish we could have kept the old subway tile that the original bathroom had. Our budget just wouldn't accommodate that kind of expenditure.

Okay, I now have lots of updating to do from the past week.

As you may have expected, the Suzuki is a total loss. My wonderful son, of who I am so proud, drove it into a tree during a drunken rampage. While he is suffering major consequences for his actions, I am coming out pretty good on the whole deal. I was offered about $800.00 more than I would have sold the car for so I am pretty pleased with that part of the outcome.

I am not pleased with my big toe. It has developed a case of gout. It is very tender and walking for the past week has been quite arduous. I have had good days and bad days but the tenderness is always there.

It is great to be me!

Fabulous Weekend

This is the poster for not allowing your child to borrow your stuff. I'm not going to go into the details, but my son is cooling his jets in a local county facility.

Design Flaw

The bathroom is now even more mostly done than it was before...but not quite. I have installed a door on the bathroom which was long overdue. I used a door we had but it required turning the hinges around. I still have to drill a hole for the lock set to connect to.

I have installed our new Medicine Cabinet. It arrived while we were in Iowa. It looks great. It has allowed me to enjoy a little luxury I haven't had since we moved into this house. I am finally getting back into a morning routine where I have everything I need to make me pretty all in one place. It seemd like I had stuff spread throughout the house before.

I have discovered a design flaw in my bathroom plans. I have been aware of it for some time but have been reluctant to acknowledge it. The heater is in the wrong position. It is placed directly across from the shower. When you step out of the shower, the heater blows air on you. It's warm air, but it doesn't feel that way when you are dripping wet.

I am also not thrilled with the programmable thermostat I have installed. When it reaches the programmed temperature, it cycles off and on repeatedly. I can't imagine that is good for the heater or my electric bill...and it's damn annoying as well.

Vacation News

I have not written in a while because we have been on vacation. We took a trip to Iowa because, well...when you think of vacation, you think of Des Moines.

I have only two pictures to share of our trip.

This is a picture of the highway as we passed into Madison County.This is the bridge.

It doesn't seem like enough on which to base a book and feature length movie.

Dog Paddling in the Glorious Wake of Modest Achievement

I am astonished, ASTONISHED, I tell you, at the amount of time I waste looking for stuff that I should have put away properly in the first place. I even have the temerity to think that I have put it away properly.

But when the time comes for me to retrieve the supposedly properly put away item, it's not there. I would love to blame small children, but I'm the only one here who comes close to qualifying under that category. I would love to blame Gremlins, but again, I think the finger points back to me on that account as well.

My issue tonight is a letter. Susan received a letter today from an on-line catalog company who misses her business. This happens to be an on-line catalog company who I have been considering purchasing a Medicine Cabinet from. This letter offers Susan a 20% discount on any item she might chose to buy. Simply buy the item and enter the code. She gave me the letter earlier and I said I was going to run it up to the computer and go on-line later this evening and purchase said Medicine Cabinet.

So here I am, up at the computer.....and I can find no letter. I think back. It wasn't more than two hours ago that she handed me the letter. I cannot remember bringing the damn thing up here. Nor I can remember placing it anywhere between the kitchen and the computer room. I have gotten a good amount of exercise this evening going up and down the stairs, looking for the letter, which is now only a figment of my failing memory.

I have not yet queried Susan about its possible whereabouts because she is not feeling well and is currently enjoying a quiet brandy and a bath. Frankly, I feel I should be able to solve this on my own...unless of course, she found it in some location where I absent mindedly placed it and then she proceeded in her neat-nik ways to hide it from me.

The problem is that I do this all the time! I am positive that I have already written about doing this all the time. We could be done with this house by now if I hadn't forgotten where I put it.

Finishing Touches

We finally purchased towel racks and a toilet paper dispenser for the bathroom. I got everything installed last night except for the towel rack, which gave me a couple of little problems. Some industrial strength glue and a slam-wrench will take care of that problem.

Bloomsday was this past Sunday and both Susan and I participated...and even finished. She did the 10K run in about one hour and 22 minutes. I did it in one hour and 44 minutes. I went out and ran a mile last night after work and I feel worse today than I did on Monday. I ran a big hill which I think made the difference.

I should run again tonight but I might give myself the night off.

Right now we are getting the house ready for this Sunday. It's Mothers Day and we are hosting the whole Famn Damily. There will only be about 12 of us, but that's enough to set Susan onto the Stress Train.

Getting Closer

We have been waiting for a part for the faucet on the new sink and so have not been able to put it into the bathroom. The part arrived on Saturday and I spent Sunday putting it together. It took all day to get everything hooked up. I'm talking about the faucet here, I haven't got to the drain yet. When I pressurized the system, there were leaks from both hot and cold water lines. Nothing torrential, but I had to shut it down after I tested it. I'll be working on it over the next few days, I suspect.

Anyway, we are another step closer.

My other big accomplishment was the shower window. It now has the etched glass effect. The discerning eye will notice that I incorporated the pattern from the wall paper into the window design.

Finished Shower

I finally can say that I have some decent progress to report. Above I have a progressive representation of the shower from beginning to end. Don't make the mistake that I am finished. I am not. We still have to get the sink installed and the major hangup there is waiting for a part for our faucet.

I am also happy to report that my Hops crop is hopping along. That little tendril is about four inches long than shown in this picture. It's still to chilly to put in the ground, but on warm days when I can bring it out into the sun, that thing really grows. I talked my neighbor Ted into buying a couple of plants as well. Now I have six that I can access.

A Post for the Tax Man

We got our taxes filed a long time ago and already have our refund so today being the 15th (the Deadline) is not relevant to me. I just wanted to acknowledge the day and then move on.

Moving on, Winter has sort of returned again for the fifth time this Spring. There was a dusting of snow on the roof tops and lawns this morning. It's almost gone now.

I put some lights back up in the bathroom last night and I may start capping the wainscoting one of these evenings. I'll have to get very motivated to start that project during the week. It's probably best to wait for the weekend.

I'm generally pretty good at putting things off until the weekend.

One Wall to Go!

After a weekend of sun and heat, I gathered up the newspaper this morning to see a deluge of rain. It was still warm and the freshness of it all was wonderful. I stood out there on the front porch and drank it in.

Susan made great progress in the bathroom with the wall papering and only has one wall to go. It's the long one but it doesn't have any obstacles, angles or corner to negotiate. Unfortunately, she has no time in the next few days to finish it up so it will have to wait a bit longer.

I can probably start capping off the wainscoating and then we can put the sink in. I am waiting on a crucial part that should be here this week.

In the meantime, I spent my Sunday in the yard. I trimmed the arborvitae down to about 12 feet and removed a lot of the damaged and spindly branches. The winter really did a number on the shrubbery. They don't look too good right now but I think they will recover. Next I need to hit them with some good fertilizer.

I have a couple of hops plants that I am starting. Right now they are in buckets in the basement. I have a Cascade variety and a Sterling variety. I brought them out into the sun yesterday and I believe they really enjoyedit.

I don't plan to brew beer with them although I won't ignore fresh hops if they provide it. I mainly wanted some growing vine plants to cover the arbor on the deck. I'm going to plant a couple of varieties of grapes as well as a clamatis. It should look great in a few years.

Finally Feeling Pretty

For the first time in a week, I feel human again. All I had was a cold but it held on and kept me uncomfortable since last Saturday.

It goes without saying that nothing has been done on the house this week. I ended up staying home a couple of days and I tried to putter around and accomplish a few tasks. The problem was that I couldn't sustain any activity before wanting to nap. I felt too good to stay home but not good enough to go to work...or DO any work.

I'm not making any promises for this weekend.

Ambitious Plans of the Weekend Fool

None of my big plans for the weekend have bore any fruit. Let's start with the skunk.

I put a humane trap out in the yard last night. I threw a bunch of hot dogs around it and then in it. When I got up this morning, it was empty. I left it out there and it wasn't long before I looked out and saw one of our cats in it. At least I know it works when the animal cooperates. Maybe I put too many hot dogs in the yard and she got full before she found the trap.


I worked yesterday at my job at the bar and then went to a football game. Spokane has an Arena II Football team. They played the Stockton Lightning and they killed them. The final score was 70 to 12. I still don't really understand all the nuances of the game and it doesn't feel like a replacement for football to me. I can wait until Fall.

Susan got started on the bathroom yesterday but didn't get very far. The work she did today involved removing one of the pieces she placed yesterday. She's a real perfectionist when it comes to this kind of stuff. If she doesn't get it right, she'll be looking it at for the rest of her life, or until she fixes it. It's still too early to get a good feeling of how it will look but I think it's going to look great.

I was unable to do much of anything today. I started feeling a little scratchy throat yesterday and I didn't feel all that great at the Football. I woke up this morning about the same. Not terrible, but I knew I had better take it easy and try and beat this cold early. The way I'm feeling now, I will probably work only half a day tomorrow. I'll go in and figure out the hot spots and put out those fires and then come home and stoke my fire.

I discovered the wonder and magic of the Netty Pot today. It's a thing to give your sinuses a bath. It feels kind of weird at first. It's sort of reminiscent of the feeling you get when you snort in a bunch of water in a swimming pool but it really works and I could really breath after I used it. In fact, it's been a while since I used it and I think I could use another, Thank you!

Weekend Projects

It's going to be a dramatic weekend of change for the bathroom. If all goes well, we will be done with this project on Sunday.

I say that knowing that I have not yet purchased towell racks or a medicine cabinet. I also have an issue with our faucet on the sink. I think I'm missing a part.

But the main stuff will be done. Susan will start wall papering tomorrow and then I'll place the cap on the wainscoating and that will be that.

I also have plans to catch me a skunk. We saw her out in the yard last night. She's not as big as I was thinking she was. I think she will fit in the trap.

Once I have her, it's a simple matter of trucking her out to the country side and setting her free, without getting nailed by skunk juice.

Details and picture to follow.

What a Weekend

I took Friday off from work and had a great day of accomplishment on tasks around the house. Mostly outdoor tasks. I took a couple of power tools to get tuned up. I put the snow blower away and I cleaned up my garage so I can park inside again. Just in time for a bunch more snow.

I didn't even bother to break out the snow blower because I knew it would all be melted before the end of the day...and it was. But then it snowed again. It's melting now.

So anyhoo...I had a load or two to haul to the dump. I borrowed a friends truck, donned my Ca-Boi Hat and went to work.

I had many tasks to perform involving the truck. I wanted to get the yard cleaned up a little and the garage cleaned out a LOT.

I really enjoyed driving the truck around. It made me miss my old truck. It's really handy to have an old beat up pick up. There's just so much you can haul with it. But, it's a total pig on gas.

I hauled some stuff to the Habitat for Humanity store and upon heading home, I came across this poor little car.

It was really smoking. The Fire Department showed up on scene just as I made it through the intersection. So I got to enjoy some excitment and not get bogged down in a major traffic jam.

My trip to the dump involved the removal of a lot of yard debris that had built up over the winter...including our $50.00 Christmas Tree. I trimmed a few branches off a tree next to the garage. This one branch layed right across the peak of the roof and wore a hole in it. It's not very big and right where a rafter is so it doesn't let much weather in. Still, it had to go. I'll patch the hole in days (months) to come.

I have been wanting to plant some vines around the deck so I could get them to grow up the posts and onto the arbors. I have found a place that sells Grapes vines and I am going to plant a clamatis as well. I also ordered some cutting of hops from Jim's Homebrew and they arrived Friday. It's still too chilly to plant them, but I picked them up and put them in a couple of pots in the basement. That will get the roots started and then they will be all set when it warms up...in August.

Well, that was my busy Friday. The rest of the weekend was full of accomplishments too. The main accomplishment I would like to discuss here is the Beer Chicken I barbequed for Sunday dining.

It's the first time I have tried this and it worked okay. I used Guiness and it didn't really add much flavor. I'm told that Sierra Nevada is a good beer to use cuz it's really hoppy. I'll try that next time.

The main problem I had was that it was too big to fit in my Bar B-Q. I had to take out the grill and set it down in the coals. It took about an hour to cook and the meat just fell off the bone. I'll be trying to perfect this technique over the Summer.

Snowy Shower

Pictured above is the scene I saw upon emerging from the shower this morning. That's right! I said "Shower". Falling sprinkles of wetness in the privacy of our own home.

So, after Eight Months and se7enteen days, we have a mostly working upstairs bathroom. The sink is not in yet and will not go in until after this weekends project...wall papering. Then it's just the odds and ends that will take a while to (1)find and (2) install.

We haven't picked out Towel Racks or a Medicine Cabinet yet, although I may be purchasing the Med Cab today...if I can find one I like on-line.

Is it a Shower yet?

It's hard for me to believe that I have let another week go by without writing. It's also hard for me to believe that I'm having a hard time believing it. It's Unbelievable!

I finally have some pictures to show off the almost completely-but not quite finish bathroom.Below is the shower from a couple of angles.
We could conceivably shower in it tomorrow. However, we've waited this long. We might as well allow everything to dry properly and go a day or two more.

The inside of the shower is pretty big and I think I'll be able to have a little steam bath effect working in there.

Below are a couple of angles of the toilet. Doesn't it look like the perfect spot to flush your troubles away?!

Admittedly, we still have a lot of detail work to finish. I am still looking for a Medicine Cabinet that I like. We also still have all the wall papering to do and then applying all the hardware.

I'm really looking forward to the first shower.

St Paddy's and Other Stuff

I find it hard to believe that I haven't made an entry in a week. I am almost sure I have. However, if I have, I cannot for the life of me remember what it might have been. And so, it is lost for all time and we must accept that and get on with our lives.

We took part in the Annual Sons of St Patrick Parade on Saturday. We got to be in it, which is a much better way to see the parade. The parade itself consists of a bunch a local companies who drive their equipment down the parade route. It is sprinkled with some High School Marching Bands and local assorted Arts and Dance troupes. It is a giant advertisement.

When you are in the parade however, you get to take part in some of the best people watching you will ever see. Plus, the parade goes by much faster. Our "float" consisted of a flat bed trailer pulled by a pickup. It was colorfully decorated for the event and had a sign that said, "The Lads & Lassy's of Flat Bed".

We returned home after a fabulous lunch of Corned Beef and Cabbage and did a few things around the house. The "Around the House" effort continued today. We are trying to get Susan's new curtains up. It turns out to be a much bigger operation than it sounds because she has to sew the curtain as we go to get the proper length in each of our different shaped windows.

As with everything with this house, nothing goes as planned.

Another Productive Sunday

We are finally to a point were when we do some work in the bathroom, you can actually perceive progress. Today was such a day. We painted the ceiling. We primed the walls that will be wall papered with sizing. And we stained the wains coating. We had a quart can and you can see that we almost made it. We might have been able to stretch out the last little bit but we still have baseboards and trim to stain so we will get another can.

I figured I would have to pull the potty when we stained, but I was able to remove the tank only. It's much easier to put back and I don't have to spend another ten bucks on a wax ring. So, my prediction that it would only be a "one day thang" is once again wrong! It's going to be a three day thang (at least) because we can't apply varnish until everything has dried for 12 hours. Plus, there are some touch up areas we have to hit.

However, I would like to reiterate that progress has been made.