We're Back

Greetings, loyal (and patient!) readers! After a long and restful nap, we've decided to get up and do some work. Here is a photo of our side yard with its now-dormant lawn perennials that have already bloomed. We're planning on turning this part into raised beds to grow fruit and veggies. I found some very nice untreated wood recently when I was visiting a friend (it was piled neatly in the street with a sign that said free- untreated!) so we're hoping to have those beds made in the next few weeks so we can put in our fall crops. If you look very closely on the left hand side you can see our mini raised bed that contains our 5 blueberry bushes (thanks, Steve and Mitzi!) that didn't fare well in the hot weather. Billy brought them to the house so we could water them daily and tend to their poor little burned leaves. They're doing well now, and we hope to add to our collection of bushes and have an actual crop next year.
We're also planning on killing most of the lawn in the front yard and putting in more garden and a little fence to keep kids out and have safe, non-dog area for the kitties.
Billy has also been working on the fascia in the back, since it was rotten with the gutters falling off. He's ready to prime and paint them (he made the sawhorses last week) this week. We also got a front screen door from our favorite used building materials store, The Rebuilding Center. Unfortunately, we measured wrong and Billy will have to shave 1/4" off the side. But once we install it, we won't have to worry about stray cats coming in and spraying! Yay for pee-free furniture.

Drowsing

This weekend's heat gave everyone in our house an excuse to be lazy. Here you see the most graceful evidence (ahem) of relaxing. Sylvia peeked at me while I was taking this shot, but she went right back to doze after I left.

So . . . Full . . .

I'm sure this is a picture of Jimpson in the Autumn, not this weekend after downing too many fourth of July weenies.
Thanks to Cute Overload for the pic.

Celebrate Freedom from Household Tasks!

Right...
Thanks to all the revelers who helped us warm our new house!
(And boy, was it warm!) We had a successful party with many people from our lives who came and ate, chatted in English and Spanish, tortured Sylvia (the under-10 set), and admired our house as we proudly conducted tours.
After cleaning up from the debauchery, we took a day off from housework (except for making cobbler from the leftover blueberries), but today we're back at it again. Billy went to our community garden and to his dismay, our blueberry bushes were on the verge of mortal dehydration. He dug them up and brought them home, and they're currently resting in our shady home nursery with moist rootballs.

We took a long trip to Home Depot today and purchased some items for summertime- another pair of roof jacks, some planks to make raised beds for the blueberries, paint stripper, etc.
Since the raised bed project had missing tools, I decided to get to work on the upstairs bedroom windows. Stripping, repainting, and weatherizing those old transom windows will take awhile but hopefully I'll be able to finish it before the chill sets in.
For the actual paint stripping I used heavy-duty rubber gloves, but while scrubbing with denatured alcohol and steel wool, I used normal household rubber gloves. Although the instructions didn't say I should even use gloves, the alcohol ate right through them by the time I was almost done. Luckily I only had a tiny burn where the stripping solvent had snuck onto my hand.

Little Red Car

Here's my subie, getting one of its twice-yearly baths. Sylvia is looking on in the bottom right-hand corner.

Sylvia Snapper's New Pants

Here's Sylvia climbing through the garden, frolicking with the pinecones and helping us garden. Isn't she getting fluffy?

Imminent Art House

Great news! We're painting the upstairs hallway! What luscious color have we chosen, you ask? Is it a classy, muted tone as befits the privacy of our second story? Is it a relaxing color that will set the tone for our slumber?
Shriek this: No!
It goes more along the food color that we've established throughout the rest of the house, but this is no food color found in nature like guacamole and corn. Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is the best way I can think to describe it. The instant after you pour in the powdered sauce, as it greets the milk and melted butter and begins to blend, THAT is the color of our upstairs hallway.
Please refrain from licking the wall.

So Hot!

Tonight it's 10:06 pm and still 86 degrees on our second level. Today was a scorcher at 102, and the house is just starting to cool off. We've been taking advantage of the basement and its cool 70 degrees. Billy worked on a painting and I watched dvds with Sylvia.
Friday we spent a little time in the garden with the cats. Mittens helped Billy plant the hostas, then she rolled around on the sidewalk while Sylvia hung around.

Practically Vacation

This week has felt like a vacation now that choir is over. We had two shows within six weeks, and I was just starting to get used to not having weekends at those intervals.
This past show was cake compared to our last show at the Grotto. For both we had two rehearsals during the week (7-10pm) and shows on both Saturday and Sunday.
This weekend we had super-easy music that was mostly jazz standards and medlies of Ellington and Gershwin tunes. (Mmm, medlies.) We got to use music stands, sing without a conductor, and talk to each other onstage. Eduardo and I were front and center so we were instructed to smile and interact with the audience. For me, that meant pasting on a big grin, making eyes with various audience members, and swaying to the beat (although I get easily distracted by the music so am apt to forget to sway, snap, or dance at any given moment.). Afterwards, a board member commented that I looked like I was having a great time up there. I gave her a combination of show-biz truth and personal cynicism: "Really? That's a relief, because they told me I needed to smile more."
Despite having all this extra time this week, I haven't really done any projects. Shame on me! I did vacuum and scrub the downstairs bathroom floor and walls yesterday, but that's not exciting news.
Sylvia has stepped up her campaign to Get Outside, and despite my feet blocking her way has run out several times at inopportune moments, including yesterday when she ran out and disappeared under the car which was parked in the street.
Billy's toe is healing. The scab fell off last week and I apologize for not getting a picture of it. Yes, it would have been gross, but who doesn't like gross?
A friend's cousin grew a massive scab one summer when he was staying with her family (we were in high school) and her mom saved it, gilded it, and sent it to him in a jar, suspended in liquid. Not surprisingly, she didn't get thanked. I guess not everyone appreciates gross after all.
Today Billy has a job interview for summer term. Hopefully he'll have an income!

Hooray for Birthdays!

Hooray for art, as well. Tonight Billy and I picked up my new art print by Brenda Dunn, discovered at the Rose Martini Party (Thanks, Steve and Pam!) and purchased from Muse Art + Design on 42nd and Hawthorne. She does simple rendering of women, colors them, and makes prints onto woodblocks. They're quite adorable and amazingly affordable, and I'm looking forward to buying more. Brenda also has a new store on 42nd and Hawthorne called Garment, which features all locally-designed women's clothing and accessories. Reach her at pinupbrenda@hotmail.com, and come to our house to see them in person!

Last Show of the Season

Loyal readers, please forgive me for the short notice I'm about to give you. Although somewhat blurry, the flier on the right advertises David York Ensemble's last show of the season, which is this very weekend!
We will have a silent auction with lots of neat stuff, many solos by the more gregarious members of the choir (not including yours truly), and ensemble pieces featuring the music of Cole Porter, Duke Ellington, and George Gershwin. There will also be a champagne toast on both Saturday and Sunday.
This is going to be a fun, relaxed show which'll be more fun for those who don't dig the classical music scene.
Plus my birthday is on Sunday! What a great present it would be to see your happy, smiling, champagne-filled selves in the audience. It's at the Old Church in downtown Portland at 8 on Saturday, 5 on Sunday.
See you then!

Relax, my foot!

Apparently day of rest now means that we only work for 3-4 hours instead of all day.
This morning at breakfast, Billy suggested that instead of stressing over all the work we had to do on the house, we take it easy and relax for a day.

"I just want to finish the roof," he said.

We worked up there for about 30 minutes until the rain drove us inside. It's sunny now, and he's been up on the roof for a couple of hours and shows no sign of stopping.
Spackling and sanding the living room landing occupied me for about half an hour, and assembling my beef pot pie kept me busy before that. When are we going to relax, again?

And the roof is done! That smile celebrates the completion of a B+ roof. (Self-graded by the teacher.)

New Band Alert

Here is the previously-mentioned planting of the baby lavender and Russian sage. As you can see, Mittens and I oversaw the project while Billy did all the work. They're small now but soon they'll grow into big bushes, perfuming us whenever we brush their purple flowers.




Last night's social event (the Rose Martini Party) featured the unusual three piece band Sneakin' Out. A bass player, mandolinist, and percussionist played covers of Beatles and Pink Floyd songs, as well as their own creations. Most anticipated for me was the playing of the typewriter (right), which indeed made clackety-clack sounds and provided an interesting percussive change from the usual drum set. Marimba, bells (glochenspiel), talking drum, chimes, and ukelele, as well as spot-on playing made this band one of my new favs. The red crinoline and mohawk sported by the percussionist was also quite dandy. Check them out!

Garden Kitty

Sylvia's been so crazy to go outside lately that I finally took her out today. Skulking through the garden was her first item of business. She started near the front porch and made her way around the back of the yard, running up the pine tree a few times and finally ending up under the car, which was parked in the street. I redirected her to the lawn, and she settled on the driveway. Mittens watched Sylvia's travels and seemed to take it as a personal affront that she not only has to share the house with Sylvia, but the outdoors as well. Woe is her!

Sounds of Silence

Several wasted gallons a day were too much, we decided, so I took the downstairs bathtub faucet apart today and toted it across the street to A-Boy. After a trip back home to dig more parts out of the faucet, I got the correct parts and Billy put everything back together. (For some reason I just couldn't figure out how to put it back.) And voici! No more wasted water, and no more constant dripping.
Our only project for tonight is to be social. Off we go!

Jimpson the Photographer

See some talented, photographing squirrels here!

Weekend Goings-on

Our days were filled with house-talk this past weekend. Bill and Ann, Billy's dad and stepmother, came to visit and brought photographs, stories, and advice learned from their experiences remodeling their 1899 Victorian in Vallejo, Ca. They work every day after work and all day Sunday on projects. Recently in their kitchen, they've torn the floor to the joists and will install new floor, removed and painted the cabinets, rewired, installed a new outtake duct for their refurbished 1929 dual fuel range (electric and WOOD), etc, etc, etc.
Ann taught us about the craftsman style and gave us advice on how to stick with the style with decorating or remodels. They know how to do everything we asked them about, and in consequence, I'm inspired! I'm ready to buy a new house and have Billy work on it this summer and then sell it for a profit.
For some reason, Billy's not as excited as I am about that prospect.
Our middle ground seems for both of us to continue working on our current house as time allows.
Our next priority is fixing the dripping bathtub faucet, which wastes a few gallons a day. (Luckily we balance that by rarely flushing the toilet and saving some of the clean water for the garden.)
I'd also like to replace the downstairs sink (see previous post- it's the stopped-up sink with vanity) with a more modern (or vintage) style. We saw many choices at the Rebuilding Center on North Mississippi. There were very old sinks with rust overtaking the enamel, pink and green art-deco sinks, lots of round sinks from the 80s, even a cute mini sink from a school.
One in particular caught my eye. Big and square with a deep bowl and separate faucets for hot and cold (annoying, but almost impossible to get away from in this era), this lovely old matron fits in a corner and attaches to the wall. Billy approves of any sink choice and has even offered to build supports within the wall for mounting. What a guy! Hopefully we can figure out how to build supports that don't get in the way of a recessed medicine cabinet, which I'd also like to install. We'll probably go with plain white wood with straight lines, as befits the craftsman style, but the mirror-fronted aluminum ones from the 60s are pretty tempting, especially at $5 a pop!
We're also thinking about how we can finish the basement. Ceilings need to be installed over the rafters and wires, walls need to be raised and redone, and if we want it to count as a bedroom we'll have to excavate around the windows and install egress windows (20"x24" minimum, with a minimum of 44" sill height and at least 5.7 square feet of space to crawl through.) .
Billy and Bill also brought some transplants from our community garden and planted them in the front yard. They planted lavender and Russian sage (right) to make a border along the driveway. They also reported that the golden raspberries, strawberries, and garlic are growing like crazy. Maybe we'll have some crops this summer!

Roofing Crew for Hire

Portland's rainy streak cleared up just in time for us to get on the roof and work on our next house project. Bill and Ann, Billy's dad and stepmother, flew up from California for the long weekend to help. They're currently remodeling an 1899 Victorian by themselves and know all about old houses. Here you see Bill and Billy, faces smeared with sunscreen, hammering sheets of roofing material.
Monday was the first day that it was dry enough to work, so after breakfast with local family member Fedalma, she, Ann and I went shopping and the guys raced home to the roof. Sylvia was banished to the basement to keep her curious paws out of the tar, but as they were setting up, Billy found her making yet another mess. There she was, just out of reach of the half gallon of yellow paint that she'd spilled all over the landing, curiosity quelled not a bit.
I wasn't there, but apparently Billy spent 30 minutes cleaning up her mess while he gave her a piece of his mind. I'm sure Sylvia was unfazed.
When Ann and I arrived home from shopping at 3:15, an emergency Home Depot run was in order for me, and Ann changed into her work clothes and started tarring. She tarred nearly the whole dormer and got a nice blister on her hand as a result. Chris and I scurried to keep up with our hammers, nailing down the paper edges of the roofing material. We raced against the clock but it still wasn't done when Bill and Ann had to leave at 5:45. Tuesday I caulked around the edges of the front part of the dormer and Billy put on the rest of the shingle material. But it's still not done!
Stay tuned.
Big thanks to Bill and Ann for helping!

Fixin' to Fix

Date night was particularly repair-oriented tonight. After a hearty meal at Red Robin (Billy's newest fav), we went across the street to Home Depot. High on our list was fixing the downstairs bathroom sink, which worked when we moved in but gradually stopped draining. While Billy took care of the recycling (including the evil broken glass from last weekend), I took apart the bathroom sink pipe and snaked it. Most interesting in there was a rotten water balloon. It was blue. It was one of the most pleasant pipes I've ever cleaned, actually. Very little smell, hardly any mess, and no mopping up afterwards! Drains at Coffee People had up to 1/2 inch of dairy plaque built up inside them from hundreds, if not thousands, of milkshakes being dumped down them. And the stink! Very smelly.
Also done tonight was replacing a showerhead, replacing an aerator on a faucet, and replacing the bathtub faucet/diverter. The bathtub faucet still leaks, so we'll have to fix that, too. Now it's time for foot elevation and movie watching.

Ma Vie en Kitten

Ah, the life of a kitten! Spending your days playing with anything you can find (socks, other cats' kibbles, catnip mice, the feet of sleeping humans), covering your waste in the litterbox with newfound vigor after every transaction, harassing other household cats to the point of inducing PTSD. Tonight I put the new sheets on the new bed. Mittens still loves the blanket game, so she rushed right in and rolled around on her back, growling with playfulness (that's her new thing, I guess). Sylvia came in also, as she's wont to do. A few moments of interaction ensued, then Mittens reached the point of being done. Fair enough. Everyone's got boundaries, right? Unfortunately, Sylvia has yet to learn this fact of life, so everytime Mittens turns around, there's Sylvia! Let's play! Time for me to pounce on you! Let's play more! More pouncing! Now watch me while I play with your toys, eat your dinner, and hog the attention of the parents who formerly loved only YOU.

Tonight, Sylvia's having some alone time in the basement, while Mittens enjoys some adult time around the house.