It all started with the water heater.....

It all started when I went to change the lower element in the water heater. I thought the water heater was drained. No. Not even close! So with a quarterof an inch of water standing in the laundry room, I considered what to do. I didn't want to tile it because I didn't have enough experience to do that solo. I couldn't put it on a pedestal because I have a top loading washing machine. So......

The dryer vent is cut into the floor. This is because the laundry room is in the center of the house. The vinyl tile is hideous isn't it? I was not sorry to pull it up!



This is what the substrate looked like under the vinyl. It is half inch particle board secure with nails. Ummm... what? Not cool Robert Frost! Gotta go!

And this is just the tool to do it with! Plus a crow bar, a hammer, and a little bit of supressed rage! :)

I am super proud of this frame. I went to Lowe's, was lucky to get a very nice sales person (thanks Blake) who was not condescending, very patient, and helped me get what I needed. I watched videos, read the owner's manual, and used a circular saw for the very first time. I like!

Half inch MDF board. Basically making another floor. Katie helped me drill the screws. No nails thank you very much!

Half inch cement board for extra stength and water resistence. Katie and her boyfriend helped out with this part. We brought the high powered drill for this. I reeally like power tools!



To finish it off, I laid down vinyl planking. Much better than the last, don't you think?

 







Taa-daaah! Not bad! Katie and Brant were wonderful and sacrificed their early bedtime to help me move the washer and dryer back into the laudry room. A little clean-up, a little Woodchuck Ale, and.......

 





Ready to go! When we have to replace the water heater, we will finish the rest of the floor. In the meantime, this is pretty sweet! Bonus: the washer and dryer are even quieter than before! I am very happy with my first almost-solo DIY project. What will I do next? Stay tuned!

Taxes....

Ahhh yes! That time of year when I very carefully gather up all the appropriate forms, log on the H&R Block saying this is the year I will do my own taxes! Then when I see how much I am going to owe, I panic, gather up my forms and run to the nearest H&R Block office and have a professional take lots of money to tell me that I don't actually owe money. ***Sigh***

Tending the Homestead

100 year-old medicine cabinet. Waiting for our greenhouse!

My cold-compost heap..bin..pile? The gate is original. My plan is to eventually plant Confederate Jasmine so it will climb the gate and hide the heap/bin/pile/thing. 

Carpenter Bee trap. So far we have trapped wasps.

Wood cutting and splitting area.

I am resurrecting the old planting beds. The ground is too "root-y" to till so I am trying "lasagna gardening". 

Rake up the leaves then lay down a thick layer of newspaper. Wet it...

...Cover it back up with leaves, mulch, or yard clippings...

...then cover that with manure and  wait!

Pots waiting for spring...and the greenhouse.

Organic apple seeds germinating

My little apple tree! Anybody got a spare scion?

Mags is either doing some gardening of her own...

...or she has found something!

Good day!

Today was a good day, no a very good day. Heck it was a really, really, very good day! The neatest part is that nothing special happened. I just did exactly what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it. How often does that happen? Not very. Thankful!

OK...so I'm OC....so kill me! (originally posted 25 February)

My new house has brought all my OC tendenacies out with a vengence! I suppose that once I start actually living in the house, this might go away. Not, however, while I'm still in the throes of moving in.

For the first time in my life (wow....I need to take a minute) I am moving into a place that I picked out, and will hopefully never have to move out of. That means that literally everything in the house will be something that I want there. That includes you too honey! :)

I have already declared to myself that nothing goes into the house with out being exactly the way I want it. Otherwise, it is given away, thrown away, recycled, or put into storage until "brought up to code". Case in point. I have a rocking chair that isn't particularly pretty, but holds a great deal of sentimental value. It does, however, need to be re-caned. Until that happens, into storage.

When putting away my dishes, I very carefully placed each dish exactly where I thought it looked best. I still am not through, but right now my house looks like HGTV staged it to sell. No really!

Right now I am content to reposition rugs, spend waaay too much time twitching the drapes to perfect alignment, carefully consider the contents of each drawer for color and use, and rearrange books to present the most pleasing display (and yes, I actually read them).

Maybe I should stop...I probably should stop...just as soon as I move that glass.

Boxes (originally posted 23 February)

Boxes have been a part of my life for twenty-five years. I never threw away boxes. Knowing that I was going to have to pack up everything in three years made me reluctant to throw them away. So I saved them all. Whenever I bought dishware, small appliances, knick-knacks, or electronics of any kind, I saved the boxes - knowing that it would be easier to pack using the original ones.


This past three weeks as I have been sorting my belonging to pack up once again, I am amazed by how many bloody boxes I have. But today is different. As I spent an hour this morning at my beautiful house, I unpacked a set of ramekins - still in the original box they came in when I bought them - probably 10 years ago. After I carefully put them away, I looked at the box and carefully unfolded it to flatten it - for recycling.

I don't think I will need it again.

Little House in the Not-so-big Woods (written February 8th)

After two months of sheer hell for an obsessive control-freak like me, I am the proud owner of a gorgeous little house. Because of various other things that happened, I did not get to spend a full day at my new house until Sunday. As it turned out, it was the prettiest day of the week. The sun (that bright thing in the sky - you remember!) was out and the temperature was up. My beloved and I got up early, put our bistro table and chairs in the back of the car, picked up breakfast, and had our first meal at the house. We set up on the veranda and sipped our coffee listening to the sound of the wind in the pines, and a nearby woodpecker. We watched the sun rise higher and a turkey buzzard (surprisingly beautiful in flight) work the thermals overhead. Only an occasional car passing intruded. ***Sigh***. Pure bliss!
With the first real excitement since purchase, we went to work - unloading things we brought from the rental house. It is amazing how a few rugs and pictures transform an empty house. My amazing man went to work on the plumbing - a few minor leaks, and I went back to the rental for more stuff. Upon my return, we had our second meal - again al fresco. I could get used to this!

My beloved was delighted to get our brand new leaf blower started and he crawled up on the roof and dispensed with two years of accumulated pine needles and leaves. We were lucky - the cleaning revealed a surprisingly sound roof with a little moss and only two small holes. A trip to Lowes and Home Depot for various delights - I could spend hours there, and it is amazing how quickly you can get drawn into a protracted debate about light fixtures - and we raced the sun back to the house to get the roof patched before dark. To me, nothing says love more than the sight of my beloved up on the roof feverishly nailing and caulking as the sun drops below the horizon. He is really wonderful!

After dinner, we locked up everything out of sight and reluctantly took our leave, pausing to marvel at the sight of our beautiful little woods in the starlight. It was a good day.