Mini ME!!

It took about 3 hours on the ONLY rain free day this week, but I got the shed painted.   Here is what it looks like:

will paint shutters Navy blue soon and add the flower boxes, too. 

I'll plan on painting the doors the same accent orange cantaloupe cold as the front door of the house, but when it's NOT raining. 

Here are a few shots of them removing the LAST storage container!   Yeah!!!  So glad that is gone! 

specialized truck

SURPRISE GARAGE!

So it took a lot of planning and logistics.  I knew it would be raining today, but I DID NOT know that a wide load could not traverse the tunnels when it was raining.

So I was called this morning and told---I might not get my shed.

I was on the verge of a panic attack.  Because J was arriving home tomorrow evening.  This is his Christmas present surprise.  (As is the fence)
The movers were scheduled to arrive at 1 pm, and the PACKRAT container folks were scheduled to pick up an EMPTY container.

I had to threaten the garage folks, but I FINALLY got them to take the bridge and not the tunnels,  and get it to me.
I had to call the movers and stall for an hour.......


That was BATTLE number ONE.

Battle number 2.   They needed 11 ft of clearance to get in the driveway.  There is  11 feet of clearance.

But there were tree limbs that were not allowing clearance.

So in the POURING---and I mean POURING, pelting rain.

We had to get a ladder and saw off 4 different limbs from my poor surviving front yard trees.  

I ached as we cut off each limb.

But finally he made enough space...this is AFTER he tried 5 times to back this HUGE truck with the garage on the bed, into our yard, blocking traffic each time.

We live on a very busy road, 4 lanes and a center median with no ability to take a different route, so motorists can get pretty angry.  AND it was POURING rain and COLD.  Like 38 degrees.

I was wearing my Antartica parka, and it was still pretty miserable.

getting into position

Anyway, that drama was over, they pulled it in the yard, then it took about another 40 minutes to set it up and level it.
The ramp is WAY too high for a car to get in, but J can work on it, and in all likelihood, it will be moved, possibly 90 degrees and perhaps a bit closer to the road, but that will depend on the eventual plans of our architect and access to the property.

pouring rain

In case anyone is wondering: as long as it is under 200 sq feet, no permit is needed, it is 10 x 18 so under 200!

So then these two nice guys, who I hired from Craig's list, were here to move everything OUT of the pack rat and into the new garage. I also had them take the cabinets off the front porch  and place them into the new garage/shed.

It continued to rain---it was a mess and cold.
But they got it all in--even the super heavy: LISTA tool cabinet.  J will be most pleased he does NOT have to move that again!

Honestly-I'm not sure what he is going to be most pleased about...
the new fence, the new garage, the absence of the PACK RAT container that has been there for 6 months, or just everything.

I am exhausted.   and sore.

Tomorrow, it is supposed to be rain free. I am attempting to paint it blue to match the house.  Im struggling with the idea of painting the garage door orange, like the front door of the house---that will be a lot of orange.
I KNOW it's insane to pain in December. With it scheduled to rain the day after--but Im gonna give it a shot anyway.

so far--her are the pix:

ramp up

view from mailbox

New fence!!

As a surprise, I had a new fence built to replace the old sagging, vine covered chain link fence.
Here are the before and after shots.

twisted old vines, leaning old fence propped up w posts

pretty new fence, will add a long row of crepe myrtles in front








here are a few more shots-- I have to let it DRY for several months--probably till the spring, then I can use a water seal stain and plant my tree barrier in front!

Darn it's cold!

We got that arctic blast last week and all of a sudden we r thrust into winter!   ICK.

Regardless, we rented yet another large tool, a ditch witch, and commenced to digging a trench for the two cable wires.  It was nearly 200 ft.
We encased it in a bright blue, thick plastic conduit and buried it about a foot deep.

The cable company was only going to string them above and onto the house---not acceptable as far as we were concerned.  So they left extra cable and we dug in into the ground ourselves.  That was a chore.  I wish we could have used the same trench as the electric line, it was 2 feet deep.

But,  during the process we discovered that the Verizon folks strung the cable wire from a pole about a block away, then they dangled it along a fence, hung it in some trees and basically just let it drag to the ground as it then ascended up to the pole just near our driveway.

What a HUGE hazard and risk.

Needless to say, we are calling Verizon and getting them to change this situation.

We painted the 4th side of the house finally--that is AFTER we  hand scrapped ALL of the old peeling and chipped paint off, then pressure washed it, then primed it with oil based KILZ----(best primer, hate oil based paint)

Then finally we could apply the BLUE paint!

And about 2-4 hours after finishing---it rained.   But so far, the paint is still there--and it looks WONDERFUL.

4th side of house--all cleaned up! 

Then we attacked the overgrowth of vines and dilapidated chain link fence!  J hates chain link fence.   I am somewhat indifferent.

There is a pool for the small community that is to the west of us--perhaps 10-12 homes. So not a huge pool, but it is right next to the 4th side of our house. They have a worn, but serviceable wood 6 ft privacy fence in place.
It was covered--completely by overgrown vines snarled in a old chain link fence.
Now it's all cleaned up---we have usable space back there now for ladder storage and similar stuff.

You can see the space under the window, J tore out the nasty old window AC unit and boarded it up. I added the cedar shingles and did the caulking, priming.

I still need to get two rain barrels for our new gutter downspouts!

J also re-arranged and cleaned up the porch.
He hung up the bikes to give more space.

This entire process on the porch was preceded by an entire day rewiring the electric stuff--so now we have a dedicated auto/on off light for the flag--as we ALL know, you can have a flag out at night---as long as there is a light to shine on it and highlight it's beauty.
I love that we are close enough to a Navy base so we can hear colors every morning and at night.

J added a new front door light-so we do not have to "feel" for the lock when we come home after dark.

Yay!!

bikes in a better location now! 

M--- painting and painting and painting! 

Busy weekend

Rare to both have a weekend off, so we worked hard to get things done!  We rented the cherry picker and finished painting and cleaning the side facing the street.  It was a bit scary, but after a bit of time, you get used to it.
I had bought a pawn shop pressure washer and it works great!   Cleaned up the deck.  I also used it to clean up the fourth house side to prep before we prime and paint.

First though, we had to cut out the overgrown vines that blocked the fourth side of the house and SCRAPE!  Boy, that's a pain!   If you don't scrape the old flaking paint, the new stuff will not adhere. And the old tiles/siding is asbestos---not a big deal unless you breathe in the powder/dust.  But you can't tell if the old paint is lead based either.
So we have to wear a n-39 mask, eye protection, and nasty clothes!
After pressure washing, it has to dry a good 24 hrs. ESP since it is on the dark side of the house and shaded!  So tomorrow. I can prime it.

We replaced a broken board from the balcony and I painted it.  We finished painting the deck.

Inside I got the container store pantry baskets and added them to the pantry door.   More space!  J added the wine boxes to a few walls that give more storage.   We also bought two reclaimed doors to make a sliding barn door for the bathroom and pantry!  Just $90 for two very nice doors!
I really have a thing for doors!
Malta has beautiful doors, if you ever get to visit Malta.

door storage a la Container Store

J installing the shutters

Halloween!

old kitchen cabinet doors!

I needed a planter box to hide the ugly HVAC system placed in from of the beach house.  Planter boxes are EXPENSIVE!  So I designed and J created this one made from the old kitchen cabinets we ripped out from the house.

I love it!   We added heavy duty casters on the bottom.  I used left over paint to seal up the inside.  Added broken bricks to create air spaces so dirt will not compact or occlude drainage holes.  

Then I planted my poor, but still surviving Clematis--all six-- I lovingly transferred from our former home in Texas. In the spring, I hope they furiously climb the trellis and fill the area with amazing blooms of color and detail! 

Kitten approved pantry! 

Then we went to work on the pantry--we had a container store book shelf in there, but there was just no way to see the food items or access them easily.  

J pulled out all the remaining closet stuff, rod, shelf and secured a shelving system.  Yeah!   So much more space--can see everything.  He will eventually open the pantry to a 22 inch opening, but has to build a header first. 

We reused the old shelf, cut it down to size and I painted it with hi gloss trim: white. The rest of the shelves and supports we bought at home depot. 

I also have a door system on order from container store.  Recall the pantry USED to be the closet in the one bedroom.  So the back of the pantry is a open and close door.  

The system from container store is a midline bar that storage baskets fit on to hold more pantry items, thus maximizing the space!

Dig photos

electric is 2 feet deep

No more wires!

at purchase

today 

Well it took 4 months,  and $800 but I finally got rid of the awful electric wires that attached to the peak of the roof from the electric pole.  Man was that an eyesore.   You can't tell now that it's gone, but that shanty town vibe has lifted.
I don't know why removing those overhead wires make me so happy, but it does.   Now we have 2 feet deep electric cable.   We can FINALLY paint the top of the house and add the shutters on the new top window!

It is definitely fall now.  Peak temps mid 70's.  Cool into low 50's.  Very different from last home where it was always 80 degrees except for two very short months of a little bit cold.  I wonder what winter will be like.
I talked with an architect yesterday. We need to start a plan for a garage build. She explained we can do a two bay and then another two bay later to staged funding.  SWEET!!

I liked her. She has cats, is thin, my age, and knows about the not so big house. Even heard the author speak at a conference.

New window, start of the pantry!

Yeah! After waiting 5 weeks our new window w tempered glass is installed. It took them under 1 hr to replace it and trim it out.  Tomorrow I can prime it, after the caulk dries!
And the final city inspector is scheduled tomorrow as well!
Then the upstairs is DONE!
Except of course for the new stairway, but that's a 2015 project!

finished the back spalsh! 

cut out for eventual walk-in pantry, it WAS the closet in the bedroom. 

new window with required tempered glass.  J reused the old closet rod and made it into the stair hand rail. 

Cold today!

Wow.  52 degrees.  Should warm up again tho.  
Last night I painted the bathroom.  Home Depot had a quart of good paint w primer.  Only $2.  Already tinted a peach color.   Great deal on returned paint.  Also got a gallon of white returned for $17.  Plan on painting living room just to clean it up a bit.


So I painted till about 1 am. (The bathroom)
Can't say it's the best color, but it looks much cleaner.  Did the ceiling too.  It was gross before.
Ordered a coordinating shower curtain too.  That will help a lot.

Will need to change the window covering. But that's just a quick trip to fabric store.  And w an iron.  I'll be done in 20 minutes.

Also last nite I did the setting of the marble on the rest of the backsplash.   There is this problem area where the makeshift plaster is not sticking to drywall.  So a few of my stones are not sticking.  I plan to cut those out and add a bit of calk to make them stick before I grout.


Thursday the gutters were replaced.  I still need to buy two rain barrels.  These guys also said the roof will need replacing in about 5 yrs.  plan on $7000 for that.

Monday (tomorrow) getting window installed.  Then hopefully, Tuesday,  I can get final inspection and close out all city permits.

We r getting more pseudo closets from The Container store this week for all our clothes.  Then maybe we can get rid of more boxes.

Fall, wonderful fall!

Doing bits and parts!

I was trying to make a crock pot of chili, but that needs beans and canned tomatoes and lots on CANNED things!  I was partly compete with tossing all the ingredients into the crock pot, browned the beef, etc-BUT ALAS, no can opener!   I searched thru 5 ( FIVE)  big dish packs --- NO can opener and missing quite a few other kitchen basic tools, so I KNOW there is another kit box unpacked somewhere!

My mom saved the day and brought over her can opener!  But,  finally this morning we went to the container (still have one of the Pack Rat 16 ft containers on the lot) and found 3 more LARGE dish packs of kitchen stuff!

Yeah!
But that just means I have to find
 places for all this stuff!  

sink upstairs, drywall and plaster to fix the 

hole in the wall for the plumbing.

J added a receptacle in wall specific for USB charging

this is the new mailbox! 

I'm having the DAV truck stop by next week to collect a lot of stuff that did not sell at the yard sale, plus more stuff we JUST DONT need.  

Electric modification from above ground to underground will be about $350 per electric company. Is scheduled now to mid october! 

I can't type that without the song from the childhood PBS show playing in my head: "ELECTRIC COMAPNEEEEEYYYYYY!"

Now that the rain has stopped, I can get back to painting!  I need to paint the trim around the door upstairs, all the calking is dry now.  I'm also considering paining the bathroom, I know it would be silly since it will get torn out, but it will be awhile and it is so gross in there! 

J is doing the extensions on the electric receptacles now, so I can finish the back splash this week, hopefully. 

He plans on doing the pantry next, but this will be a major project. 

I'm still on unpack and cull duty for the kitchen. 

I sorta took off this weekend and watched the ENTIRE season one and TWO of SCANDAL on netflix, it was pretty addicting! 

Mid September

The hectic pace of reno has slowed a bit.
Two reasons, a lot of the major stuff to make it passably livable is done.
And secondly, we need more money.

We did get the electric meter changed $450, now we wait for the city to add a transformer to a pole and run the line underground. I was told three weeks about 2 weeks ago.
We will see.

Yesterday I finished the first part of the back splash.
I tried to follow a youtube video about making your own grout and how easy it is vs. premixed grout.

LIE LIE LIE LIE!

I started off with too much water and had to use the entire bag just to get to a slightly p-nut butter consistency.
So I HAD A LOT OF GROUT.   I ended up tossing 75% of it.

So when I continue, I am buying the premixed stuff!

This is the door I worked on and stained over Labor day.  J hung it and installed the door knob.  I got it at a great deal, brand new, for $4 (door knob and receptor piece) as it was the last one. 

here are the before and after of the back splash 

we needed to get an extension box to make the outlet flush with the new marble backsplash, but I like the results.

the name of the granite is Fantasy Brown.

Now I have to keep working on the kitchen. It is hard to fit in dishes and stuff from a 4000 sq foot home into a 1200 sq ft home.  I even left major things in the old house for the renters.  I left a set of dishes, pots, pants, glasses, toaster.

I am working with a kitchen cabinet guy. We used them before to do my Mom's kitchen and another time for a less old home. They do nice work. But our size limitations are causing some design snafus.
So now we have to plan on moving the microwave to a different location.  I'm just glad I didn't buy all those appliances at the Labor Day sale.  That would have been a disaster had they not fit.

Labor day, indeed!

Today was supposed to be a day off, right?   Well not for us, J is flying,  JFK to FLL and FLL back.  Then home.  I'm here supervising (ha) the fella doing the drywall repair in the kitchen.

Very nice fella, has been here since 830 this morning.   Works alone.  I can appreciate that!  He says no A/c because the mud will not adhere if it dries too fast w AC. So I have the windows open even though it is 93 degrees, it is "cloudy" which only helps a bit.


I have been taking turns staining the new door and painting kitchen cabinets.  Nothing sexy about either of theses jobs. Lots of sanding and sanding and MORE sanding.

The new door is interior, base of the stairs, I got it at a discount import store, not a big box store. $130. It's actually very nice, with beveled glass in each of the 12 panes.  I'm using a combo product of stain and poly in one can.  Each of the 12 panes have a very detailed step-down groove that you have to be very precise or risk getting stain on the glass itself.  This I am trying to avoid.  My index finger has had cramps from the detail staining.  I need a hand massage!

The cats are lounging, not much different here.

I'm sorta feeling sorry for myself…not being a traditional family that has holidays off.  But we have NEVER had holidays off!
But it would be nice, once, to have a traditional holiday with the requisite outdoor BBQ with friends.  But most of our friends have traditional work schedules.  And now they live several states away.

So I started planning out next cruise as I was hiding in my office while the crafts guy worked on my kitchen.
Basically we can vacation in Jan or Feb and possibly SEPT OCT.

I found a transatlantic repositioning cruise.  We use Silversea line for cruises, having worked our way up from Carnival back in 2001. Silversea is MORE expensive, but worth every penny.   I would rather go one one silversea cruise ever 2 yrs vs another cruise line once a year.

We went to Antarctica in Jan Feb this year---it was amazing!  It seems like such a long time ago but it was only 7 months ago, less than a pregnancy.

I was just looking up an Aggie local club as I was feeling a bit homesick.  There is one, of course.
Odd how we only lived there 6 years but I feel that that was home!
Lots happened there!

ok  well back to 1950's reno,   Happy Labor day to all!

More floor work!

Yesterday was busy!
I had the HVAC guys come back.  They had to wrap some line to pass inspection.   They also ripped out the old floor gas furnace.  That left a gaping hole in the floor.  It was at least 3 ft x 3 ft!  Clear down into the sandy crawl space.

Also the kitchen cabinet designer came back.  He will work on the redesign so we don't have to modify the current good cabinets and granite.  I shopped for wall ovens and dishwashers.   I think I'm getting a dishwasher drawer to save space.

Them another window guy came to estimate .  I just said yes because the last guy never called me back w a quote despite the fact I called him 2 times to see if he had that quote.   I guess he's got enough business and didn't need mine.  Jerk!

I spent the rest of the day unpacking kitchen stuff, got thru 5 boxes.   So no more plastic utensils!

I also asked the city to rearrange the electric from a large unsightly wire attached to the peak of the house , to an underground option.   And they said YES!   I just have to have an
Electrician  change the base meter!  I called and I think he will schedule for next week!


Love the bedroom upstairs!   Now I can  actually organize my officer  in the former bedroom downstairs.   Also with the mini split and the ceiling fan, the temp is more controlled upstairs!   Much more comfortable sleeping!
Did I mention we had the sink installed upstairs, too. It looks great and I just had the mirror arrive today.  Got it from pottery barn teen.  But it's just what I wanted and fits the space with the eve angle perfectly!

Tomorrow I will stain the new floor patch and the new door.  J will hang it and add the door nob!    Then we can go get the boys!   They have been at grandmas for 2 months!  Can't believe it's been that long.  I miss them!

Gardening day

Wow, back breaking work!   I was up before 6 and eventually got started outside.   There was such overgrowth from the vines et al. That it was almost impossible to walk along the side walk In front of out house.   So I spent the morning with a few 50 ft extension cords and several power tools:  hedge trimmer, weed wacker, blower, hand clippers, and a rake.   Filled up two large boxes full of debris.  It looks a bit more clean now.
After that I finally tackled the remaining flower bed.   I had dug up the first bed several weeks ago and planted all herbs:   Thyme, parsley, both curly and Italian, cilantro, chives, oregano mint, basil, and rosemary!!
They are doing well.  BUT each day I have to keep up with weed pulling.

The second bed has been overgrown with weeds, a sickly looking  rose bush, some native prickly spiny plants and more weeds.   It took all morning till about noon to get all that crap out.  I filled up my garden cart to overflowing with all that mess.  
Initially, I tried to save some and replant, but it was just too difficult to get it out of the ground.

So I dumped it all.  As I dug, I found some seashells that someone else had collected, so I cleaned them up and showcased them in the new bed.
I have a frost resistant Gardenia. I can't wait for the fragrant blooms.  She is at the far end, so as you walk to the porch from the parking area, it will be a nice scent! Then three orange reddish lantana. Butterflies love these. Hopefully, these will fill in like ours did at our last house. Now that was zone 8b and this is 7b.  So significant growing differences.   I just looked the first freeze is a month sooner, too. Will have to remember this and make pesto earlier, too.


Oh and the local garden place was having a sale on day lilies.  They can be expensive, but I got 11 for about $5 apiece.    I love the showy flowers and I'm pretty sure they are perennials.  

It was a great day to do garden work except that it was WINDY.  We have a wind sock up on a dune and it was at about 15 knots all day.  Probably gusting  higher.

6 weeks in

Wow.   We are finally getting some things DONE!
 Upstairs is almost all done.
Framing $475
Insulation $3900 with spray foam and batting
Drywall and plaster $1800
Mini split a/c and heat up and down $7000
Electric!   Ceiling fan in and works well.  Light fixture.  A neat black chandler I bought at a garage sale for $40. Love it! Outside electric socket.  Outside light on balcony!!  $1500

Pending
Plumbing for sink....waiting for sink to arrive
Floor refinishing
Painting.  All me....priming done, painting 2/3 done
window replacement.  Just one window.  Quote was $650 to $1500.   Shock a locka!!  

Now on to kitchen.
Tried to get away cheaply w a piece of marble on Craig's list for$400.  But found out no one would fabricate it because it was 2 cm not 3 cm thick.   Fortunately I was able to get my money back

Now kit counters will run $2200. For fantasy brown granite. Which has very little brown and is mostly black and white.
I bought unfinished cabinets from Home Depot and I'm in the process of sanding priming sanding paint sanding painting. I like drawers much better than doors. Only one side!

Busy friday

The framer and his assistant finished the upstairs today. $475  The electrician also did more work.  He will not finish until the drywall is up.  The exterminator came, just in time to remove a dead and very old mouse from inside the stairwell.  Paid him for the year. $280

The insulation guy came only to tell me he will have to revise the quote, it will be more. r38 is the standard of insulation now.

I have an inspection scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.

Still have not heard from the drywall husband and wife team for a quote. But I have another guy lined up for quote on Monday.


No luck on anyone willing to work with marble slab for kitchen countertop. Damn!

Would like to finish cabinets this weekend but I have to take acls class all day sat and Sunday to start my part time job.  So I can pay more contractors!!
Nice thing is, my new pt job pays for the class!

Fri almost a month has elapsed...

Today the framers are supposed to finish,  I bought about $200 worth of lumber yesterday for some support beams called "headers".  12x12x2. And so forth. All big lumber and heavy.   Thanks to James at Home Depot for loading it for me!

Also electrician will be here today to "finish".  That means install working electric boxes and the lights and ceiling fan electric stuff.   That will be the end and I think I owe him another $500

 The framer is also $500 for the work.  I paid for supplies already.
Must call inspector and set up his visit.

back to Home Depot

returning: 8   2x10x10 and 4 2x10x12
buying 8       2x12x10 and 4  2x12x12

lovely

at least we FINALLY got the permit from the city!   WHAT A PITA!

We bought a beach house!!

So we just achieved our long term goal of paying off our mortgage and what did we do?  We got another!
J and I bought a great 1/2 acre lot on the ocean front that had a small bungalow on it already.  It was built in 1950.   64 years old.

Still standing.   But the previous owners had inherited it. They did noting to maintain it, in fact, they did more to bring it to ruin.   They had it for 8 years.  It was disgusting.   I am not sure but I think it was a brother and sister.
They had several years of back taxes due.  We learned at closing .  Also since then,  there was a process server note taped to our door, with the previous owners name.  Lots of past due bills.

Well they got about a half million,  so I hope they pay their bills.

There is a enclosed porch.  It had one window secured with tin foil.  It looked like a crack house.  The oven was free standing with grime an inch thick, rusted pans beneath each heating element and grease baked on.

We tossed that out within the first week we arrived AND miraculously, within 30 minutes of setting it on the curb for bulk trash pick up, someone drove by and took it!   They also took the very disgusting sanitarium style bathroom sink and the non-working window air conditioner too.

Amazing!

But the house had hardwood floors, granted they look pitiful with several areas of water damage.  But the floors are one good feature.   I have already got two estimates to repair, sand, seal the floors: $5000.
Why is everything 5k?  Why not 1 or 2 k?  It seems all quotes are 5 k!

Now we of course made many mistakes already.  Just in the two weeks we have been here already!

I had arranged for a contractor to redraw all the upstairs.  He, of course,  did not get the permit I told him the city required and so all our best laid plans have since fallen to the wayside.

No we are scrambling to get work done as we pay holding costs on out household goods.     No room to place our belongings until the upstairs is completed.  Very frustrating.

But on a positive note, we have a very superb new mailbox.  The old one was so sad......it was plastic, with several plastic numbers falling off and it was askew the rusted metal pole that was slipped onto a one inch PVC pipe jammed into the ground. All supported with two to three bricks to keep it somewhat upright.   It was leaning far more than Pisa!
The new box is bright white metal with a very secure post that is perfectly level in the hard concrete. We added a decorative seahorse motif  that I special ordered.  It looks fantastic!   We also ordered a brass address plate but that has yet to arrive.  That takes a few more weeks.

I bet the mail person is happy.