So, I'm chilling at home with some vino, watching Grey's Anatomy on my computer when I should be doing something like, hmmmm....repairing the gaping hole in my hallway wall that had previously been covered with cheap wood paneling when there was that telltale earthquake sound (combo of thump and a massive house creaking). Only this wasn't a one shot deal, this one was a roller that lasted several seconds.
The Dump was wobbling, but it didn't fall down. Thank goodness since earthquake insurance is really expensive, so I opted out of it. :)
The geek in me loves this site that details all the recent earthquake activity. It usually has a bunch of little freckles all over it, but this time it revealed a massive box covering the south bay area. 5.6--not too shabby! The map reveals that there have already been a number of eeeny-weeny aftershocks in the same area. I didn't feel those since I'm some 25-30 miles away from the epicenter.
I wonder if this has anything to do with the black cat that was sitting on my doorstep this evening....
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
Composting underway
I arrived home on Friday to find my county-subsidized compost bin on my front porch. So exciting! I set it up Saturday afternoon and set about building my compost pile. I had that can full of apples, a huge pile of jasmine clippings, plus all the leaves that the magnolia tree drops EVERY day, so I knew I was well stocked for a good pile.
I laid a layer of jasmine branches to start and dumped the can of apples onto that since I knew I wouldn't be able to lift the can up to dump it into a partially filled bin. Then I added leaves and jasmine branches, layering them with more apples that were on the ground.
What I didn't realize is that I have enough yard waste for TWO or more compost bins. I abandoned Mt Jasmine figuring if nothing else, I could have the tree crew remove that when they come for the apple tree. Besides, the pile should cook down a bit in the coming weeks which will make room for the continual supply of fallen leaves from the magnolia tree.
After that was completed, I started pulling out the ground cover that had established itself in the driveway. Since we've had a bit of rain in the past month, it came up quite easily. I was pulling at a particularly large tuft when something moved. After jumping back, I went to take a closer look and found one of these little fellows in there. I thought about moving him to the same type of plant in an area where I wasn't going to remove them, but he was quite tangled in the plant and looked really fragile, so I decided I was finished gardening for the day. Hopefully he will have found another home by next weekend. If not, I'll set about relocating him.
I laid a layer of jasmine branches to start and dumped the can of apples onto that since I knew I wouldn't be able to lift the can up to dump it into a partially filled bin. Then I added leaves and jasmine branches, layering them with more apples that were on the ground.
What I didn't realize is that I have enough yard waste for TWO or more compost bins. I abandoned Mt Jasmine figuring if nothing else, I could have the tree crew remove that when they come for the apple tree. Besides, the pile should cook down a bit in the coming weeks which will make room for the continual supply of fallen leaves from the magnolia tree.
After that was completed, I started pulling out the ground cover that had established itself in the driveway. Since we've had a bit of rain in the past month, it came up quite easily. I was pulling at a particularly large tuft when something moved. After jumping back, I went to take a closer look and found one of these little fellows in there. I thought about moving him to the same type of plant in an area where I wasn't going to remove them, but he was quite tangled in the plant and looked really fragile, so I decided I was finished gardening for the day. Hopefully he will have found another home by next weekend. If not, I'll set about relocating him.
Friday, October 26, 2007
Wish I'd been faster with the camera
Knowing how dirty the bathtub was (who am I kidding..knowing how dirty the ENTIRE house was), I should have known the pipes were not likely to be any better. I REALLY should have known this after I'd showered there the first time and was up to my ankles in water. But I snaked the drain and had no progress, so I assumed the pipes were just slow due to their age.
However, in a brilliant flash of wisdom this past weekend, I thought I'd try to "fix" the stopper to the tub, thinking maybe it's not fully open and that's causing the slow draining. I went from slow drain to no drain. Fearing I'd broken it in the stoppered position, I called a plumber.
He looked at it and said that it was simply clogged and proceeded to snake it. He spent 20 minutes snaking that bad boy and pulled out a hairball the size of a small rodent. I went running through the house to get the outside garbage can and tried not to puke. Unfortunately, I was not thinking clearly enough to go get the camera and so it went into the trash with no documentation.
He also replaced the diverter so that my shower head fully engages and I had a very satisfactory shower experience this morning. My bathroom is now officially fully functioning with no hiccups.
However, in a brilliant flash of wisdom this past weekend, I thought I'd try to "fix" the stopper to the tub, thinking maybe it's not fully open and that's causing the slow draining. I went from slow drain to no drain. Fearing I'd broken it in the stoppered position, I called a plumber.
He looked at it and said that it was simply clogged and proceeded to snake it. He spent 20 minutes snaking that bad boy and pulled out a hairball the size of a small rodent. I went running through the house to get the outside garbage can and tried not to puke. Unfortunately, I was not thinking clearly enough to go get the camera and so it went into the trash with no documentation.
He also replaced the diverter so that my shower head fully engages and I had a very satisfactory shower experience this morning. My bathroom is now officially fully functioning with no hiccups.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
100% elbow grease--no photoshop involved, I promise!
Alright, you know The Dump was disgustingly filthy when I got it. I have mentioned this several times. The progress I made in the bathroom, little bedroom and living room prove it. however, with continued cleaning, it's all coming around.
When I saw the kitchen linoleum floor, I thought it was dated, a bit dirty and VERY worn (Assumed to be worn beyond recognition in some places) and I vacuumed/swiffered to pick up the big stuff, but that's about it. Since I've been staying there a few nights a week and padding to the coffee pot barefoot in the morning, I decided to scrub the floor. I quickly discovered that the floor is dated, VERY, VERY dirty and only a bit worn (under where the table probably was). Armed with a bucket of water with Murphy's Oil Soap and a scrub brush, I made an 18" swath of clean floor and decided I needed to photo-document it.
The following photos are completely un-retouched and may shock you. Viewer discretion is advised. :)
BEFORE (well, sort of. Do you see that "stripe" against the wall? That's clean floor, so this is technically a "during" photo):
Here's the "really worn" area:
AFTER (turns out it's worn only in patches):
BEFORE (Lovely 70's BROWN and yellow lino):
AFTER (Only moderately dated yellow & tan lino):
As if that is not proof enough, I opened the laundry room door after finishing in the kitchen, and saw the line o' grime:
Yes, it is still ugly, and yes, it is still worn in areas, but other areas are shiny and clean. Now that the heavy scrubbing is out of the way, I'll go over it with some Mop n' Glo to make the whole thing look shiny and clean.
When I saw the kitchen linoleum floor, I thought it was dated, a bit dirty and VERY worn (Assumed to be worn beyond recognition in some places) and I vacuumed/swiffered to pick up the big stuff, but that's about it. Since I've been staying there a few nights a week and padding to the coffee pot barefoot in the morning, I decided to scrub the floor. I quickly discovered that the floor is dated, VERY, VERY dirty and only a bit worn (under where the table probably was). Armed with a bucket of water with Murphy's Oil Soap and a scrub brush, I made an 18" swath of clean floor and decided I needed to photo-document it.
The following photos are completely un-retouched and may shock you. Viewer discretion is advised. :)
BEFORE (well, sort of. Do you see that "stripe" against the wall? That's clean floor, so this is technically a "during" photo):
Here's the "really worn" area:
AFTER (turns out it's worn only in patches):
BEFORE (Lovely 70's BROWN and yellow lino):
AFTER (Only moderately dated yellow & tan lino):
As if that is not proof enough, I opened the laundry room door after finishing in the kitchen, and saw the line o' grime:
Yes, it is still ugly, and yes, it is still worn in areas, but other areas are shiny and clean. Now that the heavy scrubbing is out of the way, I'll go over it with some Mop n' Glo to make the whole thing look shiny and clean.
Monday, October 22, 2007
No news
No progress on The Dump this weekend as it was Nike Women's Marathon weekend! I did basic housekeeping and started steam cleaning the grout in the bathroom floor Saturday morning (amazing! Wish I had a photo of how it looked before), but since I slept in until 9:00 to be rested for the race, and we left for SF at 3:00, I didn't embark on any big projects.
But, the race was awesome, the post-race BBQ involved steaks the size of a child and lots of other yummies (including some of Kat's cookies that were seriously addictive), and I was in bed at 8:00. Read for a while, but definitely had the lights out by 9:00 for 10 house of sleepy time.
I was told to expect the bid from the contractor today, but I haven't seen it yet...
But, the race was awesome, the post-race BBQ involved steaks the size of a child and lots of other yummies (including some of Kat's cookies that were seriously addictive), and I was in bed at 8:00. Read for a while, but definitely had the lights out by 9:00 for 10 house of sleepy time.
I was told to expect the bid from the contractor today, but I haven't seen it yet...
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Super cute!
I put the finishing touches on my little pink room last night (opted out of painting bathroom trim since it was cold and damp out--it would have taken forever to dry and I'm sure I would have messed it up along the way). I have to say, it looks SUPER cute and I'm totally in love with it.
This is how it looked before:
And this is what it looks like now:
Even though I do not have a nice wide-angle camera the way most realtors do, I'm sure you get the idea that it's a drastic improvement.
Next up is to use the floor wax solvent I got last weekend to get rid of some of the grimy wax buildup on the floors. I sure hope it works!
And, since it's taken a gazillion attempts to get these two photos uploaded (Blogger was clearly having some issues this morning), you're just going to have to wait until later to see the bathroom photos. Sorry!
This is how it looked before:
And this is what it looks like now:
Even though I do not have a nice wide-angle camera the way most realtors do, I'm sure you get the idea that it's a drastic improvement.
Next up is to use the floor wax solvent I got last weekend to get rid of some of the grimy wax buildup on the floors. I sure hope it works!
And, since it's taken a gazillion attempts to get these two photos uploaded (Blogger was clearly having some issues this morning), you're just going to have to wait until later to see the bathroom photos. Sorry!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Painting trim
If I ever offer to help you paint, for the sake of our friendship and the sake of your desired outcome, do not hand me a brush and point to endless miles of trim. Vast expanses of walls and/or ceilings done with a roller--no problemo!
For as much as I love the way a fresh coat of paint changes a place (such an inexpensive upgrade!), and as much as I love rolling it onto walls, I HATE painting trim. That's probably because I'm a HORRIBLE trim painter as I rediscovered last night. I'm so horrible, I almost bagged it to leave half the baseboards primer white, especially since the room is going to be gutted in 6-9 months.
I struggled through it and got the job done. I'll hang the curtain tonight and will consider the little bedroom good to go. It looks pretty darn cute, truth be told.
I'm planning on camping there tonight so that I can finish the bathroom trim (ugh!). Photos tomorrow for sure.
For as much as I love the way a fresh coat of paint changes a place (such an inexpensive upgrade!), and as much as I love rolling it onto walls, I HATE painting trim. That's probably because I'm a HORRIBLE trim painter as I rediscovered last night. I'm so horrible, I almost bagged it to leave half the baseboards primer white, especially since the room is going to be gutted in 6-9 months.
I struggled through it and got the job done. I'll hang the curtain tonight and will consider the little bedroom good to go. It looks pretty darn cute, truth be told.
I'm planning on camping there tonight so that I can finish the bathroom trim (ugh!). Photos tomorrow for sure.
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