Managing to Plan

The title is an expression used in the project management world. It means that you are able to manage the project to where it stays on track the way you have planned despite roadblocks that come up. I find that I am challenged in this area. I think my problem is two-fold - I overestimate the amount of things I/we can do in a given period of time, and I underestimate the amount of time a certain thing takes to complete. But this is a learning experience after all. So there are still quite a few things left to be done on the living room. I finally have some pictures. To the left is the living room in it's before state...rather bland.

The lathe and plaster walls and ceiling had an amazing amount of cracks and holes in it. It took *forever* to patch everything and sand it all down, and try to make it match the texture of the rest of the plaster. When all was said and done it actually looks pretty good, and though the large/long patches are visible, they aren't terribly so - and the smaller ones you can't see at all.

I tried to freehand the corner where the wall color and the ceiling color met, but that was disasterous. So I added the task of taping the ceiling off when I painted the walls. That worked out better then I thought, and actually created a fine, if not entirely perfect line. I can't say the same for around the windows, where the tape pulled some of the recently applied paint from the walls. Also the trim paint seemed to seep under the tape in spots as well creating more errors. I took a tiny little craft paintbrush and touched up the spots in question and it turned out better - no one would ever know! (except that I just told you).

DH finished installing the baseboard, but just installing it. We have not yet caulked it, patched the nail head marks nor painted it. I refer back to the first paragraph here...I didn't realize how time consuming it would be to install it. He did a wonderful job! I really like the way it turned out. Unfortunately I emailed myself the wrong picture so you can't see it up close, but I'll post another picture once it's painted and done. I do think the paint color turned out lovely! And the white baseboard really sets it off. I included a full room shot, pre-baseboard so you could see the overall color and the basic idea of the new furniture set up.

So if you remember, I was concerned about the way the curtains would look against the new wall color. We hung the first of the curtains last night, and I must say my concerns have been confirmed...I don't like it. The curtains weren't my favorite to begin with. They are a little too heavy and old fashioned for my tastes. And DH doesn't like how full they are, he'd prefer something a little less "bunchy". But there are many windows, large ones at that - so from my window shopping I estimate buying even cheap curtains would cost about 200 bucks, and probably more. Even making them would be very expensive, unless I got the fabric on uber-clearance. We have alot of improvements to make on this house, and a certain amount of money we socked away for it. So spending a bunch on curtains when we have some that will do and are practically new seems not the wisest. I think we'll wait and budget for that later. They do look kind of pinkish, and consequently almost make the walls look greenish - but they did look a little better in the natural morning light today. /sigh. What do you think?

So anyhow. That's where we are at. Over the next week we'll be painting the baseboard, touching up the spots around the windows, hanging the rest of the curtains, and painting the rest of the trim. I'm tempted to leave the mantle as is, as it will be a BITCH to prep and paint properly. Oh and we simply MUST hang the pot rack in the kitchen! I'm tired of it sitting next to my desk.

On a completely different subject, why is it that I'm the only one that complains about the user interface of blogspot? I mean, it's a total f'n bitch to upload pictures on this thing. They all go to the top and you have to drag them where you want them - and then by the time you are done, there are huge gaps everywhere. When you try to delete the spaces between the paragraphs etc, then if you hit backspace one too many times...*bam* your picture is gone and you have to start over. Then after you publish the post it doesn't even look like what you expected. I HATE it. It's why I don't post pictures more often. Perhaps I'm missing something, some trick or tool - as no one else seems to complain. But whatever. Maybe I'll just start writing the posts on the HTML tab, because that might work better.

Bah. Time for working...and stuff.

I <3 Long Weekends

Three cheers for Dr. King...huzzah! (And not just for my Monday off, of course) I actually have some non-house related plans. Dinner with friends and a trip to Sacramento for a fun gaming session. Yay! Well, there's some house stuff in there too...naturally. DH and I plan to go to Home Depot tonight to buy the baseboard for our living room. He bought a miter saw yesterday, he's so stoked! It's a scary looking piece of machinery. I really should get over my whole fear of saws thing...but I just can't stand them. Handling blades of any type - even little scissors - gives me morbid visions....saws being the worst. Ugh.

*Anyways* the saw will help greatly with the baseboard project, and it's big enough to cut 4x4's even which will help when we do the yard projects, like a shade cover for the patio. But I'm getting ahead of myself. For this weekend the list is simple:

• Baseboard (measure, cut, install, paint)
• paint trim (leaving the doors and mantle for last)
• shop for light fixture, tiles for the entry floor, and doorknobs
• Prep entry way for painting
• Move piano into new spot

Short and sweet. Though that baseboard will be a bitch. Luckilly hubby deals with that! I'm so lucky to have such a handy husband! Oh and maybe, just maybe, if we have the time I'll have to drag him to Urban Ore. Urban Ore is a great place, great for recycled building supplies. It also has a huge warehouse which feels to me like a cross between a flea market and an antique store. DH will *love* it. In fact, I'm gonna email him right now saying we should go tomorrow morning!!

Okay, I'm back. On a last note before I go, I didn't stay long at the Bistro last night. I was just too cold and sleepy. But I did make progress on the blanket, even though I had to rip out 6 rows to get to a very obvious mistake. (This is where I can insert Gypsy Junk's lecture about how much easier it is to fix mistakes when knitting and about how crochet is totally lame except for the occassional edging). But long story short, I have exactly 6 rows left of shells and 5 rows left of single crochet and the blanket is done other then the edging. The other progress was that I figured out what the mistake was that I was making that was causing my count to be off for the last 12 rows or so. I'd explain, but it would make the 2 people who read this blog totally yawn with boredom and one of them has already sat and listened to the explanation with a glazed-crocheting-is-lame face anyhow. ;b

Suffice it to say, I will be starting my rug project soon!

Happy Friday to all. This weekend I will DL some pictures, I swear!

I think I'll dip some warm biscotti in my coffee...

The paint, the paint! At long last the color is actually on the walls. Boy is painting hard work. My neck and shoulders (and consequently my head) are aching big time. But my toil is paying off, for as of last night for the first time the living/dining room looks new. It needs a second coat badly, but that will happen tonight. *rubs shoulders* /sigh. It's worth it though. The color is "warm biscotti" and I like it. I think I've mentioned before that we enjoyed the warmth of the wall color in our last living room (at the rental house) so we tried to copy it, and I think we hit the mark. The only problem I foresee is the curtains, which were a nice beige color. But now held up against the new wall color they take on a pinkish hue which just isn't good. But new curtains are not difficult to come by. I'll start window shopping ASAP just in case! I'm almost concerned about the same pinkishness from the carpet, which afterall the curtains were obviously matched to. But that's not so easilly replaced, and I think that our rugs and furniture will distract from that. Or...we'll just get used to it.

The new furniture set up will work, we kind of tested it out while moving things around for the painting. It will get the couch off the walls (according to HGTV, having all your furniture against the walls is one of the most common decorating mistakes), away from the cold window and closer to the fireplace. BTW, the fireplace now stands out beautifully against the darker wall color...can anyone say "focal point"? Also it creates an actual dining room and a cozy nook behind the couch for my oft-neglected piano. I do have a camera full of photos for you, and I shall DL them soon.

On the subject of piano....my accross the street neighbors are Vivian and Lee - a lovely older couple from China. It turns out they were both piano virtuosos back in ye old county (I heard from my other chatty neighbor) and they offer piano lessons! Now, it may seem silly for someone who has 11 years of formal piano lessons under her belt to want to take more lessons. But I am truly almost 15 years out of practice. My fingers know a handful of songs by heart that serve only to prove to an ignorant ear that Mary knows how to play the piano. But a few bars into each song, those fingers turn to silly putty and my mind draws a blank. Put sheet music in front of me that once would have been read by sight, and I struggle through like a right handed person trying to draw with their left hand. So yes, I'm toying with the idea of taking a refresher course, mostly to encourage me to practice daily and have some guidance.

On the subject of classes, Gypsy Junk has mentioned a few times now belly dancing and yoga classes. Now belly dancing lessons is something I've been meaning to try for *years*...ever since my first rennaissance fair back in '92. But I've just never gotten around to it. A couple of my friends including the rogue non-poster (:p) Seamstrix Art have taken classes and really enjoyed them. So perhaps perhaps...we'll give it a try some time. The yoga would probably do a world of good for my pain problems, but that class is on Thursdays, and I'm not ready to forego the weekly stitch and bitch.

Ah, a perfect segway (sp?) into another topic...my next crochet project! I do believe I'll finish Sophia's blankie very soon. I think that the rows will be done this Thursday, and I can do the edging over the weekend (who am I kidding) or next Thursday. For a xmas present to myself I bought Crochet Me, which by the way I'm totally pissed off to see it's on sale now. There is a pattern in there for a cute litte rug made out of circles. I like circles! It's kind of modern looking and I think it will juxtapose nicely against the slightly more old fashioned look of our living room as an entry way rug. I need to select my colors, and I think I'll do it in acrylic (*gasp*) yarn, as because of the doggies, it will need to be thrown in the washer on a regular basis.

Oh my, I've spent the last 32 minutes on this stupid post. I suppose I'd best get back to work before big brother flags blogspot as an offender. Until next time.

Yes! to progress...

...no to pictures! I really am so lazy about downloading/uploading my pics. I must get better at it. Shall I add that to my list of resolutions? Oh please. I've already blown them and the year is only 7 days gone. Well maybe not *blown*, but I certainly have been lazy.

But let's focus on the positive, shall we? We *did* make progress over the weekend. Hubby fixed the leaky roof, and his roofer friend came over to survey the work and said that he couldn't have done better himself. Good boy! I finished the pantry door. Really, all that is left to be done to the kitchen is to oil the cutting board and paint the door going into the garage - and neither of those are pressing. It's pretty much done!

I'm completely done patching cracks and holes in the living/dining room and about 2/3 of the way done with sanding of those patches. My arm about fell off on Sunday and finally I let it rest for a bit. I figure on finishing the sanding tonight or tomorrow night. Then I must wash the walls with TSP, then I must tape. I picked up all the paint. I think I bought more then I need. But the trim and ceiling paint I can use the left overs in the other rooms. The wall paint we had custom mixed because the color didn't exist at Kelly Moore. So I didn't want to run out. Plus we'll have to do lots of touch ups after the windows get replaced. The color match turned out beautiful! I'm very pleased, even though I haven't seen it on the walls yet. I just know it will look nice.

So I am on track for my goal of finishing the painting by the end of next weekend! And still I found plenty of time to reach max level on my main WoW character. It's all about priorities. :b

Cheers,
M

Here comes the rain again...

And thankfully so, as we need the water. Two dry winters in a row would have been icky. I don't care for the "if it's yellow let it mellow" thing that happens when we have our occasional Mediterranean climate drought happenings. The bad thing about the rain is no walking or frolicking outdoors. The good thing, is plenty of time for reading, playing video games, and painting!!

I have no pictures for you today, but I do plan on starting to paint the living room and dining room this weekend. Or at least some serious prep work done! There are many cracks that need sanding and filling. My goal is to have the painting done before the end of next weekend. I know, not a lofty goal. But I'm trying to learn to be realistic. I'm not those folks on HGTV (I love HGTV!) who manage to paint and decorate a room in a single day. I, unlike their painting experts, need to tape everything...especially considering we are painting the ceiling white, which means taping along the wall/ceiling joint. Not to mention, it is the weekend and I need at least some time to play WoW. After all i need to hit level 69, and it would give me great pleasure to level up before my pal that I play with. If I could hit max level before him, he'd be steamed! :D

But I digress. We have chosen a warm biscotti brown color for the walls. Our last house had this color in the living/dining room and we, surprisingly, really liked it. Much darker then I would have thought to choose for a great room area. White ceilings, trim and doors. DH will be installing new baseboards as well. We also plan on reorganizing the furniture to a different set up that will hopefully make for better conversation, closer TV viewing and being able to actually use the dining room for a dining room table, rather then as rarely-used piano room. I'll let you know how it goes. Did I mention that I should play the piano more? I guess not. Add that to my list of new year's resolutions (again, for like the 10th year in a row).

On a kitchen note, we have mounted the pantry door, and sanded the cutting board. So some painting and oiling are in order, along with the pot rack and transformer for the doorbell, for this weekend.

Uh oh! Hubby just called and informed me that the roof is seriously leaking in the garage. BUMMER! At least it is in the garage and not the house! I'm confident that he can fix it. He's very handy. However he's very bummed as well. Did I mention his truck is leaking and the fridge is leaking as well? Leaky Leaky day.

I'll post progress, should I make any. Happy Friday

Kitchen thoughts and pictures

So at long last I'm posting some pictures of the kitchen, even though it's not done yet! Here's the before picture of our lovely 1940's kitchen. This is actually a rather nice picture, the light was very good and it almost looks serene. However in real life, the floor was vomitous, and the yellow was dark and stained and almost flourescent in certain light. It had to go. I wanted bright and clean more then anything so we went with bright white paint on the walls and cabinets. We decided we wanted to keep the classic tile for now, though down the road we might actually remodel this room and if we do, there will be new countertops and cabinets. However...we may not. There's something charming to me about a grandma's kitchen.

Now here's the boys ripping out the ugly linoleum flooring. It acutally wasn't in that bad of shape, but it was just too ugly for words. We debated about putting in new linoleum in a slightly less offensive tone, but our friend who does tile talked us into the tile. Laying a floor is hard work! Of course I wasn't involved ;) DH did it with the help of his friends. But they did a really great job. I'm the painter in the family, so I did all the painting. DH did help me with some of the prep - sanding mostly. Painting a kitchen is a pain in the ass. I look forward to the rest of the rooms being easier by far.

The picture on the left is when the tile is almost done and the painting is half done. Then the picture on the right is current state, except i've finished the last of the cabinet handles. I couldn't find any new handles that I liked better then the original handles so I got metal cleaner and a toothbrush and cleaned off years of what I like to call "finger fudge". Ugh! They came out nicely though. I was left with a bit of a color conundrum because when all was said and done, the kitchen looked clean, yes - but almost hospital white. I went to buy floor mats and saw some dishtowels at Target that were white with yellow, green and brick red stripes. So we got those and red mats to match the red stripe. I think it turned out okay and as you know from previous posts, I'd like to make cushions for the chairs and perhaps new curtains to add some more color. I like these curtains from pottery barn:

I wonder if they'd match with the rugs? If not I could always get some neutral rugs like they have here. The possibilities are endless. The target rugs were cheap anyhow! There still is several little things to do. The pantry door is yet untouched, as is the pull out cutting board. I decided I want to paint the new kitchen/garage door, as it's the wrong white and looks almost blue agains the walls. And my mother in law says she has a pot rack that I can have. I need to go look at it to see if it will fit over the stove. That would open up a cupboard for my canning supplies from the garage! That would be nice. Ah the garage....we're tackling the garage next...or rather DH is. He has some plumbing and electrical stuff he wants to do in there, and we want to get a quote for a garage door. Plus then we want to build shelves and sheetrock most of the walls. A new window is important as well as the garage window is rotting!

I'll be helping with the garage of course, but my own next project is painting the living and dining room. We are going away to visit my parents this weekend, but when we come back I will start packing it up, taping and TSP'ing everything. Joy! Hopefully lovely before and after pictures of that area will grace this page soon.

Cheerio...

Shed Satisfaction

I'm glad to say, that we have finished the shed project! At long last the monstrosity that I've spoken of is gone, and a tidy new shed is hiding on the side of the house.


Patio Before:


Patio During:


















Patio After:


Oh and let's not forget the side yard!

Before:















Now here's a little during. I learned a bit about patio
making with this process. Taking shortcuts makes for a
patio that is a bit uneven. However, it's not bad considering
how quickly we did it (took a day for the patio part).
And its only to sit the shed on top of. If we were ever to
do this for an actual patio, then we'd go to the effort of
digging it out several inches before laying everything
out the way you are supposed to. That way there is enough gravel and sand to actually work with to keep the entire thing perfectly level. As it was we only had about an inch to work with. Still not bad IMO.



And finally the finished product:

So there you have it! We took the junk stuff to the dumps today. I hate the dumps! It stinks so bad and I can't help but think what scourges we are on the planet every time I go there. However, most of the stuff we took was recyclable so it all went in special recycling bins so I felt a little better.

Anyhow...a last note for the day...Happy late Solstice! I love the Solstices. They always bring about a feeling of change and peace for me. Especially this one...it means midwinter (even though on our calendar it says first day of winter, I consider it midwinter) and that the days will slowly be getting longer. I hate the cold and the dark and it means spring is a mere couple of months away and that soon the fruit trees and acacia trees will be blooming and giving me the hope I need to make it until March. I feel better already.

Gettin' a move on...

I think I am spending too much time playing video games! OMG, did I just say that? Well I have been, though I've enjoyed every minute of it. The problem is the holiday is fast approaching and I've done little preparation. But I have the day off today and I plan on spending some time shopping and maybe wrapping. Tonight DH and I will be getting our tree and decorating it. Yay! I love the tree. However that means I'll miss the Bistro Bitches meet up tonight. So I should probably work on Miss Sophia's blankie today. I would really like to give it to her for christmas! I have been making progress, mostly on the BART trains.

















I figure I'm about half done, not including the edging. So yeah, I best get a move on. I got the pattern from the stitch-ionary in the Encyclopedia of crochet. It's pretty but one side turns kind of funny and leave a little ruffle whereas the other side is even. I tried to alter the pattern, but it didn't work out right. Seamstrix Art (who truly deserves the label of "she who hasn't posted in like, ever" over me), in her wisdom advised me that it won't even show once the edging is on.
And I believe she is right. :) Oh, if you notice the afghan in the background, well my great-grandma made that one. Teensy tinsy little squares - I can't figure out the pattern. That woman had patience! I have some old quilts she made by hand too, though they are too worn and fragile for display. They live inside the cedar chest which is protected by Nana's afghan. I have some of her quilt squares as well, which will eventually go into a quilt of my own making.

Well, gee I guess I'd better get to cleaning the kitchen. DH and his dad put in the ventilation fan last night and there's only a few things left to do. I'll make a list, since I love to make lists:

• Touch up paint around new door
• Touch up paint on cabinets
• Paint and install pantry door
• Buy and install shelf for over stove
• Buy and install replacement thingie for stove (alas, when installing the fan a large piece of plaster fell on it and dented it...my brand new stove! Luckily its a replaceable part)
• Alter the curtains so they fit better cafe style, and maybe add some cute trim
• Cushions for the kitchen chairs?

Yay!! The end is in sight. So soon, very soon, once my camera charges, I'll post the before and after kitchen pictures.

As I stand accused...

...as she who "hasn't even written a word in like ever" and I've even been threatened by virtual stabbing with knitting needles! That's right, can you believe it? Well it is true that I haven't written, but its mostly because I feel bad writing without something to write about or pictures. I've been doing nothing crafty lately, still trucking away on the blanket for baby Sophia, who may be in grade school by the time I finish up. It's the house I tell you, the house I blame for all my craft-less woes. Soon I promise I will post pictures of both the blanket and the kitchen.

So at least we are making progress on that. The kitchen really is almost done. Hubby put the new door up and now we just need to do some finishing on the cabinets and he needs to install a ventiliation fan. That should be fun. Then we get to finish decorating!! I need a shelf for over the stove, and I'd like a new light fixture as well. Then Hubby got a motherlode of brand new Lagunitas Beer labels (his favorite beer) which he wants to mat and frame in a nice black frame as art. I thought that would go nicely over the kitchen table and it will make the boy very happy to contribute to the decorating part of the equation, since usually I'm a bit of a control freak when it comes to that. But you can't really blame me cuz the boy has no sense of symmetry or theme when decorating, and those things matter to me. I choose my battles carefully and this one I have chosen. NO the tacky ass skateboard with a slutty looking girl sucking a lollipop will NOT hang in the living room. I will however allow a modest gallery of more aesthetically pleasing skateboards grace a wall somewhere in the house....maybe even in the living or dining room if I can find a place for them that pleases me. See, don't ever say that I don't compromise!!

Oh what other home improvement news do I have to share? Ah yes. When the boys were installing the aforementioned door, they managed to get plaster dust billowing throughout the entire house. So I quickly hung up a flannel sheet in the doorway between the kitchen and the rest of the house and lo and behold...all of a sudden the ancient floor heater is effective at heating the living room! Even with the door up, it seems the kitchen/garage area is a portal through which all heat goes and does not return. So I'd in my head been toying with the idea of making a nice permanant curtain for that door way that we can close in winter time. I figured the man wouldn't like the idea, and then he comes out with "hey maybe a beaded curtain would look cool here". WHAAA...??? Before the fabric curtain idea I had though the VERY SAME THING but didn't speak of it cuz I figured the idea would be WAY too hippie for hubby. And then he suggests it! And wouldn't you know, I have a vintage from the 60's bamboo beaded curtain that my mother gave to me that simply needs re-stringing. That won't, however, solve the heat problem. But suffice it to say, a curtain of some sort will likely grace that doorway hence. Maybe I'll switch them back and forth depending on the time of year!

Oh oh! And I've saved the best for last. We've been debating on what kind of storage we should buy for our sideyard so that we can get rid of the oft-loathed monstrosity of a shed that is living on our back patio. The sideyard is long and narrow so many standard sheds simply won't fit. We found a tupperware type one, but it was 700 bucks and we couldn't stand the idea of spending that much on tupperware. Custom made one would be awesome, but would be $1300, which we can't afford. So I ordered a shed from Walmart (note: I HATE walmart, but i just happened to notice a link for sheds on google so I said what the heck and there it was). It's ca bit cheap and not the prettiest - but it will always be out of sight, it will fit and it big enough for what we need to store, it's not plastic, we can afford it, and we don't have to build it ourselves...which we were talking about doing and with everything else going on we'd end up with the monstrosity on the patio for a year.

So we are very very excited for our little aluminum shed to arrive so that we can get on with the backyard. Now there's a project I'm very excited about!

Well gee - I guess I'd better work again. Don't let it be said that I never ever post. Just that I never actually post any pictures.

Home Ownership Rocks!

So the hubby and I just recently bought our very first house. We'd been thinking about it for years and finally scored a sweet little fixer upper in a nice neighborhood. Now that we've been in about two weeks things are starting to need fixing. We currently have no heat, no hot water (we have it set to scalding in order to get a luke warm shower) and the water from the latest rains is sitting stagnant at the end of our driveway and can't seem to find its way to the nearest storm drain. We also have a leak in our attic. So many things to do, many phone calls to make, and miles to go before we sleep.

We bought a new water heater which gets delivered tomorrow, and the hubby plans on installing it himself. I'm a wee bit concerned about the whole process...but he's very into the whole DIY thing so I'm letting him have at it. The HVAC guys come tomorrow as well and I'm nervous to find out how much fixing the furnace might cost! Hubby seems very on top of fixing the roof...we have a good friend who is a roofer who gave us some advice. It's good to have friends!

It's all a bit overwhelming, but it is exactly what we signed up for. We couldn't afford, nor did we want, some shiny fancy ready made tract home - we wanted something with character that we could make our own. I am pretty proud of what we did in the kitchen. It has been transformed from a grannyish flourescent yellow with vomit colored linoleoum to a fresher, cleaner whiter version with a new tile floor. I'll post some before and after pictures, but not until I finish getting the cabinet doors painted and installed. I know some people don't even have cabinet doors, but personally without them I kind of feel like I have my pants down.

Ciao for now!