Our Little Bungalow

It's with regret

2010-03-17T18:00:00.002-05:00

That we have to sell the Monarch Stove
.

But since we don't have a working chimney we decided it would be foolish to keep it in the basement where we don't have room.
SO
craigslist, here I come.

Dry Erase Paint

2009-07-03T11:31:00.001-05:00

Yea, let's just say that doesn't work too hot.
Or doesn't work at all.
So today I'm painting the big white area of what was supposed to be dry erase wall up. Or trying to.
Maybe I'm write Rustoleum a little letter, yup think I might do that.

Little Man's Room

2009-05-27T21:04:00.004-05:00

We just have two things to do with his room finish the trim around the dry erase paint on the wall and eventually pull up the carpet and put down laminate or hardwood flooring. The later won't be for a while though. The paint has set up for the recommended time now, so I can paint the trim and hubs can hang it then I will tell little man what that big white spot on his wall is for! LOL
Before

After

In the meantime

2009-05-02T12:31:00.002-05:00

While I'm trying to paint little man's room there is 6 yards of mulch in the driveway. Oh and yeah I forgot to mention the privacy fence supplies that Menards is dropping off next Wednesday...in the same driveway.

And I did find primer.
In a closet.
In the back.

My brother rocks!

2009-05-01T20:00:00.004-05:00

My brother was taught by my dad, and his shop teacher of course, how to do wood working. My brother honed these skills himself. He honed a lot of skills himself, like how to be a gun smith. Anyway, he is awesome! He is making me a built-in for the living room!

He just rocks!

There comes a time

2009-05-01T18:28:00.001-05:00

When you ask yourself....do you really need primer? Really? If you forgot it....do you really need?

The Little One's Room

2009-04-27T20:00:00.002-05:00

Well we started peeling the wallpaper off of DS' room. It's the smallest room we've done yet. We thought it'd be the easiest, boy were we wrong. Once we got the wallpaper off we saw all the cracks in the plaster. Hubs has not pleased! So now that all the cracks have hopefully been repaired I can start to paint!
Lucky me!
And next week we have lots and lots of fencing being delivered because we adopted our new basset hound on Sunday. So that took a little chunk out of tax return, but it will be worth it!
Summer...oh sorry road construction season is almost here!

Woo-hoo!

Well we messed this one up

2009-03-07T10:14:00.002-06:00

So we are looking at our lovely little bathroom, with it's odd little shape. It's the only bathroom in the house and it's located on the second floor.
When we moved here we took out the pedestal sink, yes blasphemy I know! But I did have reasons! We have three children, so I wanted a double sink so at least I could get ready in the morning on they could brush their teeth. We also had to put in a shower as the P.O. only had a jacuzzi tub from 1982 in there. So we had an opening of 48 1/2 inches for a countertop sink and cabinet, which we custom ordered and installed.
Now we want to beadboard on top of the cedar carsiding to make it look more like a bathroom. The problem is then the sink a) wouldn't fit or b) the beadboard would overlap on top of the sinktop.
Yeah we didn't think that one through.

Hot Dang!

2009-02-15T21:09:00.003-06:00

We have new flooring new furniture and I'm pooped!
The furniture got here before we got the flooring in, but oh well.
I love it! Now we just need the quarter round and we are good to go!
Here are some pics.

Our sofa is gone...

2009-02-07T10:12:00.002-06:00

But hopefully we can get the new floor installed in the living since hubs sold the sofa. We currently are sitting on saucer chairs and the 4 yr old asks, where is the new couch at momma? It's coming dear. But when? When they can deliver it dear. But when? It will be a while. So in that while would be the PERFECT time to get the floor down in the living room....don't you agree?
Let's see if hubs agrees....

The Holidays Are Over

2009-01-02T20:53:00.002-06:00

Thank goodness.
My dad had a heart attack shortly before Christmas. Things got really complicated. So now, that the kids have gotten their visit from Santa, we can pack up the decorations, maybe we can our life back on a somewhat normal track.

Well...

2008-11-25T05:41:00.006-06:00

Well hubs and I got a start, but ya know Thanksgiving is in 2 days! I got a turkey to brine, pies to make, and I still have to work...so does hubs!!!!! But here is what we accomplished on the walls.....
At least they have some color!

Dear did you forget something?

2008-11-18T19:22:00.001-06:00

Well hubs was putting up the chair rail in DD's room, (or what we were using for chair rail), and had said he was all done. He then had a fire call he had to rush to. Remember we live in hicksville, he's on the first responders/fire dept. Anyway, I went up after work to look at the room. Here is one side.

And here is behind the door.

After he got home I asked if had enough chair rail. He said he did and he still had some left in the garage. I said, is there a reason that there is none behind the door?
Oops.

Damn

2008-11-14T21:37:00.002-06:00

Ok tomorrow would be what..Saturday OH I don't have to work. Let's see hubs sleeps for 5 hours, he's soooo lazy! So I can either, go grocery shopping, nope the kids don't have to eat, or paint the stairway. I think I'm going to choose the stairway. It's gotta get done. Then we move on to the floor of the living room.
And oh I have made out my letter to Santa, if any of you know him.......I would like an elf to come strip the paint off of my windows, the inside. I'll do the trim, but man the windows? Those just suck. Big hairy donkey balls.

Moving On

2008-11-11T09:32:00.004-06:00

Well we still haven't made a decision about the ceiling in the living room....
We're kinda putting it off, imagine that!
BUT we did manage to get the wallpaper paste off the stairway walls. Those huge walls. Here is the before pic.Here is after.
We found out what worked was a tall squeegee, ya know one of those car ones! I liberally sprayed, with a garden sprayer fabric softener diluted in hot water, onto the walls, (it helps if they're plaster), and let it sit just for a minute or two and then hubs went to work with the squeegee. Worked like a charm. Now just have to figure out to get the paint done very nicely by the ceiling. I still think that is going to involve me on a board that is in between the ladder and the top of the staircase.......

Beadboard Ceiling???

2008-10-15T20:53:00.004-05:00

Ok, we have a crappy popcorn like texture ceiling. It's not the "true" popcorn ceiling, but more of a painted texture ceiling, probably done by the P.O. when they were trying to make this lovely house into the ranch style....you've seen the wallpaper samples from August 1985 right?
Anyway it's been bugging the crap out of me. (thank you speedy for the word of the year it seems) and there's no way I can scrap that stuff off. Hubs will NOT put up a new ceiling of drywall or re-plaster just because it bugs me...(hell he could have lived with the crappy wallpaper from 1985, me I love the color of the living room.) But I could possibly talk him into a beadboard ceiling. I don't think he realizes quite how labor intensive it would be and by then we would be already started and he likes the look of beadboard. I know I'm sneaky....but as in previous posts....I have a way of getting my way.
So whatcha think?
Beadboard ceiling in a brick craftsman bungalow??????

Well Hello BOB!

2008-10-07T21:27:00.003-05:00

Been a long time dear! Where have you been?
Haunting the neighbors?
Bothering Diane?
Oh I see, scaring Candy's kids? Gotcha!
Now it's the fall, and time to come home? Oh if you must. But please try not to turn the kids lights on and off too much. You see the youngest is now 4, if you remember Bob, he was 2 when we moved in, yup in the crib too! And anyway he is in school now. He has to get up pretty early. He's also a bear to get up in the morning. So if you could, please, don't flick the lights on and off too much, or just do it in your old master bedroom, our room? Please? The little ones really need to get some sleep. I know you like to turn them on in a clockwise circle and then off in a counter clockwise circle, but please no. I really don't want to have to take the lightbulbs out of the light again. They're a pain to but back in again in the morning at 4:30am. Don't you remember how I broke that one last year?
Please Bob, please...

Clawfoot tub- REFINISHED!

2008-09-25T17:04:00.005-05:00

Well it's done!
And it's beautiful!

In case you forgot what it looked like here it is the before:

We did the outside, with the help of Peel Away 1.

Hubs did the feet, aren't they gorgeous?????

And the Tub-n-Tile guy did the inside. We had him put a slightly rough surface on the bottom near the drain so the little ones hopefully won't fall as much.

I just love it!!!!!!

Two stripped!

2008-09-24T19:11:00.005-05:00

Well I'm talking about windows, I don't know what you are thinking!
We've got two of the three windows that needed to be stripped done! Now they just need to be primed and painted. I would have done the third, but guess what? I found a HUGE wasp's nest. Of course I did. Of course. And of course I would be allergic to the damn things. SO while they must think Peel Away is the best thing in the world and 10-15 of them are buzzing my head, I had to finish the two windows I started. I didn't start the third. I'm leaving that for another day. If it gets too cold and that day is next spring....OH WELL.

Oh and tub re-finisher guy we picked NEVER called us back.
Of course not. I'm starting to feel a little like Stucco House.
So our third pick called us back. He was here today to do the tub.
Hmm.
Another post soon.....

Windows

2008-09-02T12:33:00.002-05:00

Well, not counting the basement windows.....and for the record I'm NOT!.....we only have 4 windows left! Out of those 4 3 need to be stripped and 1 can be encapsulated. The 3 that have to be stripped are just too bad to be encapsulated. 2 are piano windows, so we never open them anyway, and we can't get the storms off of them if we tried, but we have to get the nasty lead paint OFF, and then the kitchen window. Then we have this lovely window.

This one can be encapsulated.
But it will be a pain to paint.
Soon, soon.

Pretty cool...

2008-08-19T09:41:00.002-05:00

Well until recently I've kept this site and blog kinda quite from most of the people that know the "real" me. Just in case I need to vent about the neighbors, though I would NEVER do that, (even though their dog barks ALL day long, please give it a new home or bring it inside!!!! It doesn't belong in a garage!) Ahem! Anyway, friends of ours have this site I've got to brag about. I think most of you would find it pretty neat.
WoodTurning by Greg He does awesome work. Check it out~~~

Whew!

2008-08-08T21:18:00.002-05:00

Last coat of the Encapsulating paint is on DS' exterior window! Now it just has to dry and we are as hubs says "golden." Then the decision comes if we will have enough $$ this summer to swing two new replacement windows in his room. If not, the storms need to get stripped with Peel Away 1 and re-painted. But for now I know we can open his windows without creating lead dust or having any lead chips come into his room.
Here's the can!

Say What?

2008-08-07T20:34:00.006-05:00

Is it August already?
OMG the kids start the back to school program next week!
Holy CRAP!
Ok, so hubs and I had a conversation that was similar to that the other week. Then we decided to see if we could squeeze out of this summer:
Getting the backyard finished fenced in, it never was really fenced, just halfway.
Get the beadboard up at least on porch ceiling, (originally we wanted to do that along with a new floor, but yeah, that ain't happening before the snow flies.)

Get the clawfoot tub refinished and do the outside ourselves.

Get a new floor in the bathroom AND

Put the newly re-finished tub IN the bathroom and hopefully not through
the kitchen ceiling....(though that would mean a new kitchen for me.......)
OH and if we have any time and $$ left 2 new windows in DS' room.

Plus host another Beers-n-Ears party, since ya know we had the flood on
the night of the other one, we thought we'd try it again. What the heck!Ya know that phrase if it wasn't for bad luck? Yeah, that applies to us........

Ok now

2008-08-05T14:42:00.002-05:00

So we have it narrowed down.....to about 5 companies. After a meeting of the minds, well hubs and myself we called a few places and decided to have the tub done at 5 of the places, now we have to just choose one of the 5..............Hmmmm.........
Decisions decisions.......

Clawfoot tub

2008-08-01T21:15:00.003-05:00

So.
We found a tub last summer. It was coated with epoxy paint, a couple of layers. So we got some stripper actually got the paint off, and now have some rust stains on the tub. Some really bad ones around the drain. Then we have the outside. Of course we have to get the paint off the outside as well. Hubs will be working on that as well soon.
But the question is, what to do with the inside? What do we re-finish it with? A kit from the store?

So now what?

2008-07-27T11:37:00.002-05:00

Ok the other sinkhole was a little tiny stump, a bunch of bricks and an air pocket.
Now hubs has a sore back, which of course I get to rub. ;-)

Now we are moving on to DS' windows. A project I dread.

And then the chimney sweep came out and finally cleaned out both chimneys. They of course need to be lined. And the one is so small we can't burn anything in without getting a liner because it is unsafe. It's so small, I can't find an insert for it. So what do we with it? Really what do we do with our fireplace?

Anyone?????

Sinkhole

2008-07-18T20:53:00.004-05:00

Ok so there was this sinking spot in the lawn. We ignored it for awhile, because, hey, we don't live in Florida.
Well one day hubs decides to get the shovel out.
He moves the trampoline (wampowine says the 4yr old). The sinking spot was a decomposing tree stump. Something we should have thought of, considering we have 13 other trees in the darn back yard....which btw makes for fun mowing!
Now it looks like thisThen we have this one.

It just get worse.
We're dealing with this one soon.
Wish us luck.

And to end with some seasonal coneflower (echinacea) pictures. Enjoy!

2008-07-14T18:15:00.003-05:00

Procrasination

2008-07-14T18:13:00.002-05:00

It's a wonderful word. It describes us a lot.
But we have been working.
In our head.
On what to do with the sinkhole.
Yes a sinkhole. Maybe.
Maybe an old cistern caving in, we don't know. What I do know is the pool has got to be moved. Soon. Probably Wednesday. That sucker takes a good 3000 gallons to fill too, btw.

Fun fun fun.

Goodbye Dear Angel, Goodbye

2008-07-08T21:52:00.002-05:00

I just found out a dear friend had passed away this morning, her name was Angel. She left behind a baby girl, a loving husband, her best friend and sister-in-law, a brother, loving parents and many friends who will miss her dearly. She left us far too soon. Jazzy will remember her momma through us Angel, your wicked sense of humor, your laugh that could spread like wild fire, she will remember you dear Angel.

Ride the wind fast to heaven and be her angel forever........

Ok I'm better.....I think

2008-06-29T17:27:00.002-05:00

Well we encapsulated the wood with some nifty paint from HyTech it's called Encapsulgard. We placed our order and the paint came fairly quickly. Very nice. It goes on nice as well. Two coats gave us the desired thickness. It was quite funny to see me hanging out the window over the porch. With the help of the captain I was feeling quite limber. :-)

So now we just have my youngest sons room to do. That I am so not looking forward to. It's his lead levels that are rising. They are still in the normal range, but they are rising.

Lead paint sucks

2008-06-18T20:23:00.003-05:00

Yes it does. My youngest lead levels are a bit raised. Not extremely high, but raised. We have lead paint that we were trying to abate on our exterior windows. Trying. Now we will be encapsulating it. What do you encapsulate exterior windows with? Especially when you are trying to be cost effective because you are on a budget?
.

Who knew?

2008-06-10T20:52:00.001-05:00

We always thought the flood of August 2007 would be the one we would remember. No. Now we have the flood of June 2008.
Yes we once again have a wet basement. A floating basement.
Totes will float. Then the tip. They aren't waterproof, by the way, they leak.
Yup.
Leak.
Nice, huh?
We thought so.
I was feeling a tad guilty that we hadn't re-laid the flooring down "there", nope not so guilty anymore. Not at all.
Oh and the PO lied. He did have a wet basement.

And on another note, we replaced another fan/light combo, still going on and off all night.
It's getting to be that time, so that's all I'm writing about it now.

Things that irritate me

2008-05-09T20:11:00.003-05:00

My friends will tell you that list is long. :-)

But hub's b-day is coming up soon and I thought maybe I could get myself my own mother's day present, being the chillen' are so young. So I go to Best Buy on my lunch hour. (Hey it's close and I was *just* browsing!)
Anyway, I can go in there on a day I'm not working, therefore dressed in jean and a t-shirt and NO ONE will help me! But today dressed in "work" clothes, and a nice dress coat, heels, etc I have not one, not two, but six salesclerks offer me assistance.
That's just wrong............on so many different levels.

Still standing

2008-04-02T09:31:00.001-05:00

Well still at a standstill, but still here. Now that I'm back to work we're not near as productive, especially since hubs works such a weird schedule. 7 days on (third shift) 2 off, 7 days on 2 off, 6 on 1 off, 1 on 3 off, 7 on 4 off and repeat. ALL Year long. So we're still here. And talking about projects...just not doing any..................

Shhhhh it's a secret

2008-03-11T21:42:00.002-05:00

I'll let you in on a secret. Between the 7 day stretches hubs works he really really really doesn't look forward to my honey-do list. On the top of his not really favorite? Well right now that would be the paint stripping. You really have to know my personality. Once I'm set on something, it's going to happen, even if I have to burn the house down with the heat gun. (Of course I'd save the ankle biters and the parrots. The mop of a dog, well...) So he's looking at my wanting the paint removed off the stairs as a snowball effect. Ok it's going to start with the stairs, then she's going to need the baseboard removed, or she's going to need a ride to the ER because she put the crowbar through her hand, again. Then that moves to the trim around the window by the stairs, which now doesn't match any of the other windows. At this point he sighs and goes out the garage to gage the amount of paint stripper we have and will it really kill the birds? He can only hope. (The amazon likes to scream like an amazon while hubs sleeps.)
So let's all hope that the damn snow in Hicksville, Wisconsin melts soon! I want to break out the heavy duty strippers and keep the parrots alive!

I give up

2008-03-10T11:53:00.002-05:00

That's it, I'm throwing in the towel. The stupid paint refuses to come off the stupid trim! I've tried Citristrip, SoyGel, SoyClean, PeelAway, the heatgun, and when I sand the stuff gums up my sander. I GIVE UP!!!!!!!!! The only thing I haven't tried is Tiny Oak Park Bungalow's suggestion of Zip Strip because of the fumes. But seriously the paint won't come off! There's only two or three layers on the there! What gives?

Standstill

2008-03-10T08:39:00.002-05:00

Well we kinda hit a standstill. Ya know that big brick wall that leads to nothing? Ya that one. Between running my youngest around and planning my oldest birthday party, that's a big deal at the age of 7 you know. Not much has been done at Our Little Bungalow. But it is amazing how one little tiny bungalow can drain so much money, isn't it? Most if not all of you know what I mean. I got last month's heat bill, and wow. I am more than ready for spring. I HATE WINTER. It really is official.

Pictures?

2008-02-27T20:57:00.002-06:00

I'm just an average mom. I take pictures of the kids. Lots of them. Of course I want to save them. So I burn them onto CD myself. A year or two later I go to find a picture and lookie there. Blank disc. What???? I know I put pictures on there. Ok, I'll admit I'm not too big of a geek when it comes to this stuff, but I KNOW I put pictures on there. Ok, find the Isobuster program. Get the pictures off of the corrupt disc onto another one. (It really was my burner I know.) Anyway, my point?
Isobuster was the best $25 I every spent. Ever.

What was left

2008-02-26T18:11:00.006-06:00

Some of you had great finds in the houses you own. We did not. The PO picked the house clean, except for one thing. The stove. That is in the basement. That thing is going to be a you-know-what to get out of there.
This is all that is left. Imagine all the lefse that was cooked on there.
Poor stove.

Sooo frustrated

2008-02-24T13:50:00.003-06:00

Ok so in previous posts I had stated we choose to paint the cream trim white. Now I like my wood trim an actual wood color, silly of me I know. Yesterday while hubs was sleeping from working the night shift, a bug crawled up my butt and I grabbed some soy paint stripper, (which by the way SUCKS) and thought I'd try stripping something we knew we needed to stip when we would get to the stairs. (In the next 30 years or so.)
So I applied the stipper, wrapped in cling wrap like a good little girl. Let it sit until it was nice and bubbly. Well paint stripping sucks. Anyone who paints wood trim for the first time ought to be shot. It's going to take us years to strip everything in this house. So everything BUT the staircase stuff is going to painted white for now and stripping will be next winter's project.
So guys, what paint strippers do you recommend? Besides the Silent Paint Remover, which I can't afford right now..........

Wood floors

2008-02-23T11:22:00.002-06:00

After talking to hubs, we will probably have to put new ones down. These ones, while gorgeous, just have too many gaps and just can't be saved. We (hubs) talked local floor guy here in hicksville and he agreed. I really wanted to keep these floors.
Oh well......just add another project to the list.

The right color choice

2008-02-20T16:55:00.006-06:00

Is Old Cedar. It just matches the house. Even hubs who was afraid it was too dark agrees it really fits the house.

Here is a picture of the French Doors to the entrance way.

Nice. Now we just have the rest of the hallway that goes to the stairway and then finish stripping the wallpaper off the stairway......fun fun, NOT.

Foam rollers

2008-02-19T21:53:00.003-06:00

Hold a LOT more paint. Hmmmmm. As someone who hasn't used one before it was a learning experience.

We choose a brown color for the entrance, hallway and stairway, we didn't want it to compete with our lovely gold in the living room.

Well hubs didn't want it too dark, so we went lighter than we normally would.
Mistake.

It looks pink.

Back to the store.

The results?

The next post.

Entranceway Light

2008-02-18T09:36:00.003-06:00

We can cross that off the to do list.
I realized I'm really really bad at before pics.

Here's the new one. Now I know the finish doesn't match the new light in the living room or in the dining room, but guess what? I don't care. It's eclectic, it's me and I like them all.

Little thoughts and ramblings

2008-02-17T09:10:00.002-06:00

While awake at 2am this morning I had a few thoughts. Would hubs make it back from work ok? We had an ice storm here and I worry. The other thought is, I wish my dad was able to remember things better. He suffers from Alzheimer's and even though it's in it's early stages he still has a hard time remembering things. He forgets at times that we moved into this hicksville to be closer to him and mom. We only live 5 blocks from them now. He forgets that we are fixing up the bungalow.
I think he would be so happy to see what we are doing to the house. My father has restored and renovated every house he has ever owned. He is an awesome woodworker. He was a plumber way back when and knew enough electric stuff so he could just about anything to a house. To look at the houses he remodeled and restored. I really wish he could see the bungalow and remember it. Oh well.

Ok people I have an issue

2008-02-16T14:38:00.005-06:00

Ok the entrance and hallway wallpaper stripping has come to screeching halt. But I've got some trim painted white, does that count? No? Shucks.

What's my issue? What's my problem? Well. I'm 5' 3 1/3" the DMV makes me choose either 5'3" or 5'4" so I choose 5'4" to feel better, but that really stretching it. Now I have some *really* short friends, so I often forget I'm short as well. BUT I remembered it recently. Yup, the stupid hallway leads into the stairway, I have no idea how to get the wallpaper down from there. Hubs has an idea, but for the life of me all I can see is one trip to the ER for me.

Oh and BTW here is Don Helfrich's signature from August 1985.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Front hallway

2008-02-09T18:52:00.000-06:00

So we are starting on the front hallway. Stripping the wallpaper off and and GLUE and such. ICK. Why oh why did they have to wallpaper every square inch of this house? Why Don Helfrich? He wrote his name on the walls on 8-20-85 quite a lot in this house. At least we can paint over it. I have chosen a nice beigey tan for the hallway. Then we have to PAINT over the wallpaper in the dining room. A big no-no I know, however....there is lead paint in the dining room walls, so the lead inspector said it would be best not to remove the wallpaper. Since we have children under the age of 6 in the house that's what we are doing right now. (We are planning on removing a wall from the kitchen to the dining room in the future, but that is the future's problem.)

Anyway just one more post about removing wallpaper. To anyone out there that doesn't know. It's a pain in the butt. A big one.

Freaking Cold

2008-01-31T12:15:00.000-06:00

Ok it's cold. I'm talking -35 degrees below zero cold. This brick house just ain't cutting it. So hubs and I are talking blown in foam insulation before next winter. It's either that or tear out the lath and plaster, something I am not keen on doing. That and get the stupid fireplace functional. What I wouldn't give to be able to burn wood in that fireplace.

As far as I know that fireplace has NEVER been used. There is no way with me not working right now that we can afford to get an insert in that thing. Nor are there any chimney sweeps willing to come and unplug the chimney, (imagine that -35 degrees below zero and no one wants to climb on my roof, go figure.) Can you imagine the crap up there? I don't want to think about it. Ick.

Well since it has been cold and I have been home more I've been baking and cooking more.....I found this awesome site..recipezaar The people there are really friendly. You review a recipe, and they will Thank You for it.....neat. Of course I can never follow a recipe......I have a disease that makes me think, oh it would be neat if it had this or I did this instead, so most of my reviews are only 4 stars cause I have to play with the original. I'm so bad that way. I don't post many recipes because, well I have another disease that prohibits me from measuring. I kinda just eyeball it and call it good. Sad I know.

So if ya'll know anything about blown in foam insulation let me know!

Living Room- Complete!

2008-01-28T20:35:00.000-06:00

Well, all but one sixteenth of a wall. That doesn't really count...right? Right!
When we were stripping the wallpaper on the OTHER side of the living room (have you seen the beam?) we had a wall that decided it wanted to chunk apart. Yes that is my technical term for it. Thank you very much. So hubs is fixing it. Did I mention he LOVES working with plaster and drywall.....it's better than sex to him, no really. So once that wall is done the living is painted, the carpeting is up, the light fixture is replaced....baby we are as good as we are going to get for a year or so.

For Julia Kiss This

2008-01-15T11:04:00.000-06:00

This one is for you!
(Sorry to all the housebloggers out there, yes this one is OT)

I heard it through the grapevine
My new neighbor don't like my big red barn
A '47 Ford, bullet holes in the door
Broke down motor in the front yard
I got half a mind to paint a plywood sign
And nail it up on a notty pine tree
Saying I was here first
This is my piece of dirt
And your rambling don't rattle me

Some people care about what other people think
Worry about what they say
Let a little gossip
Coming from a loose lip ruin a perfect day
Say, blah, blah, blah, just a jacking their jaws
Got a letta roll off-a my back
I don't give a dern what other people think
What do ya think about that

I wear what I want to, overalls work boots
Crank my music up loud
Like to sling a little mud in my four wheel drive
Trek it all into town

Shoot a little eight ball down at the pool hall
Drink a beer with my friends
Now don't judge me and I won't judge you
Cause we all get judged in the end

Some people care about what other people think
Worry about what they say
Let a little gossip
Coming from a loose lip ruin a perfect day
Say, blah, blah, blah, just a jacking their jaws
Got a letta roll offa my back
I don't give a dern what other people think
What do ya think about that

Some people care about what other people think
Worry about what they say
Let a little gossip
Coming from a loose lip ruin a perfect day
Say, blah, blah, blah, just a jacking their jaws
Got a letta roll offa my back
I don't give a dern what other people think
What do ya think about that

Say, I don't give a damn what other people think
What do ya think about that
What do ya think about that

Some progress

2008-01-13T09:22:00.000-06:00

Well well well. A new year and finally a new start on the living room.
The only before picture I could find of the living room was on the realtor site, sorry!

But the small half of the living room is done! Whew! Hubs was really impressed by the fabric softener taking off the wallpaper paste! :-) His wife does know a thing or two outside of the kitchen!

We have the new light fixture in the living room, thanks to hubs, knowing me, if I touched ANYTHING electric I'd be fried!

We decided to paint the trim white instead of tackling the job of stripping it all this year, and you know what? Hubs and I both really really like the white with the walls and the floor! So I think we might not be stripping the trim next year. I don't know. I still want to strip the staircase, but that will have to be done with stripper, not a infrared paint remover thingie. I really love how the start of the living room looks, all I need now is window treatments!!!!!!

Bob was only slightly mad at the change in the color of the walls, he only turned the light on in the bedroom last night twice. So that's not too bad. He didn't move anything and he didn't turn the kid's lights on.

You might be a redneck if...

2007-12-17T20:24:00.000-06:00

Well if I have been busy juggling. Between two little kids, two elderly parents, and my stepson, my lovely little bungalow has suffered. After we pulled up the lovely cream/grey carpeting and found what I think are maple floors, things kind of came to a halt.
But I have to share what my 3yr old son said today.
We were talking about Santa. Where does Santa live?
My 3yr old replied with a serious face. Santa lives in Wal-Mart.
No, Santa live in the North Pole, after we were done laughing.
NO! Santa lives in Wal-MART!
Ok, Santa lives in Wal-Mart.
Sometimes, it's just easier.

One more thing completed

2007-11-05T06:56:00.000-06:00

Dining room light before!

Dining room light after!

Fireplace oh how we fear thee.....

2007-11-04T11:45:00.001-06:00

Well, when we bought our lovely little house, we were told they never used the fireplace. False. Evidently in the 80 some years they owned the house someone used the fireplace. So We got a little brave and took out a piece of cardboard that was shoved up in there. Hmmmm......
Not pretty. You can't see a thing for all the nest and crap up there.....I wouldn't be surprised if there was raccoons up there.
So we call the chimney sweep. With all the flooding that has happened in our area he is booked solid, trying to get people's fireplace clean outs clean again.......at least I think that's what he said. So in the meantime I'm looking for inserts in the off chance we win the lottery and can actually afford one....(ya know since that same flood sucked every last penny out of my wallet.)
Well, we have a Victorian sized fireplace. Great. Almost impossible to find inserts for it. Lovely. 21 inches wide. That's narrow!
(The logs you see in there are just some fake things I got Menards....they do NOT produce any heat, which is what I WANT!!!!)
So I have to think on it some more.......

Well another project started......

2007-11-03T17:24:00.000-05:00

and not quite finished. With the holidays fast approaching we had to clean the cream colored carpet. It hadn't been done since we moved in last year. Well we though to ourselves, wouldn't pulling it out be just as much work? This stuff is just tacked down, unlike the stuff in the foyer and dining area that is GLUED down. If the hardwood underneath is in good shape we can put off sanding for a little bit, (unlike we tear up the other stuff.) So in the midst of four other projects I talked hubs into tearing up the carpeting with me. He drew a line the sand. NO MORE PROJECTS. This is it sweetie. That means no wallpaper coming off I guess. We really do need to get my stepson's bedroom completed.....drywall is such a pain. Plus the floor in the bathroom still isn't done, not to mention the beadboard........
Anyway....here's a picture of the floor and the new area rugs...I bought two of them......

What to do, what to do.....

2007-10-26T20:25:00.000-05:00

Ok, we have a lot of trim that would look just wonderful stripped and stained. But it's not. It's this nasty dirty cream color. I've lived with for a year and I'm sick of it. I'm also sick of the wallpaper. It's bugging me. I'm also sick of the cream carpeting. C'mon people! WHO puts this stuff in a CRAFTSMAN BUNGALOW house?????? Who tears out original built-ins?????
So the other I say to dear hubby....if we're going to have Thanksgiving here we need to get the carpet cleaned. Which then leads him to peak under the carpeting in the living room. (We already know the carpeting in the dining area is GLUED down.) Yup this stuff is just tacked down and the floor under it isn't TOO bad. We could live with it for a while, (a year) before re-finishing it. So then dear hubby says, well if I'm going to tear up the carpeting I might as well tear out the wallpaper. I think to myself, that is never going to get finished before Christmas. Thanksgiving, I could really care less about, Christmas however..............

Sad Day

2007-09-26T17:32:00.000-05:00

We had to put our 12 year old Basset Hound Miss Ruby Sue to sleep today. :-( I think it's beyond my 6 yr old's mind, but maybe not. We'll have to see. It's a sad day all around. We only had crumb sweeper now and the little white dust mop isn't quite the same as the hound dog. Have a swift safe passing to Rainbow Bridge Ruby Sue. We miss you.

Oh and did I mention?

2007-09-22T20:58:00.000-05:00

That our house is haunted? (Even writing that creeps me out.) Yeah. About 3-4 weeks after we bought our house the P.O. killed himself. This house had been in his family for about 60 years. There are three bedrooms upstairs, two of them have remote controlled fan/light combos. The third one has a new fan/light installed by dear hubby, when we moved here a year ago. So you can turn the remote fan/light combos out by either the remote, the pullchain, or the switch on the wall. In the middle of the night the fan and lights will come on, whether or not you have the light and fans turned off by the pullchain and/or switches or not. Doesn't matter. This will happen in the bedroom that does not have the remote fan/light combo as well, but not as often. I've kinda gotten used to it, the kiddos haven't, but I have.
Then the other night I had a terrible dream. Frightening ghosts, scary hallways, sounds silly now, but oh so real in my dream. That night the light came on twice in our room, once in daughter's room, and twice in my son's room, the three year old ended up sleeping with me. When I got up the next morning and came downstairs, things had been moved. And moved weirdly. Party dress up hats my kids played with were all over the house. ALL OVER. I called dear hubby, since he was on his way home from his third shift job, had he moved them before he left and I forgot? Nope he remembered them the same way I did. The dogs were in their kennels at night, so they didn't do it. It just kinda freaks me out. I don't like to talk about it a lot at night or in the house, weird huh?

Knives are tricky things

2007-09-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

Besides being a wanna be do it yourselfer, I love to cook and bake. I never make a cake from scratch. Bread is my specialty, and well I make a mean Moroccan Chicken Taco. So it's been quite some time since I've cut myself cooking. I mean years. But when you don't keep sharp knives, well.....you end up with your finger sliced down to the knuckle.
I have just been so plain busy I have forgotten to keep my chef sharp. So now with a throbbing hand I will be reminded of that for quite a while!
Of course this happened while my three year old was at the table wanting a slice of bread and butter, my stepson had friends in the basement, my husband was at the fire station, and my six year old was staring at me while blood was pouring down my hand, with her eyes as wide as could be. Yeah, not a good time.
Dear hubby came home shortly, but still, if it wasn't for bad luck we wouldn't have any luck at all. I think will slow things down maybe a tad bit more for a couple of days.....

Real Life is Hard

2007-09-21T21:03:00.000-05:00

It would be so nice just to work on the house, but my real job interferes with that. Don't get me wrong I love my real job, (most of the time.) But man, I really want to stain that wainscoting. Plus throw in a three year old with a sensory disorder and you have mayhem!
So as you may or may not have guessed, the basement is going rather slow. We do have that icky flood smell gone. That was nasty! We have the walls coated, and mostly insulated. We have 3/4 of the wainscoting up.
My dear stepson came this weekend. He turns 15 tomorrow. So we set up his bed in his partially finished room. The poor kid is kinda sick of sleeping in the living room. I think "camp-outs" get old after age 7. So that also means about 6-8 15 year olds in his room all weekend long....so no more working on the basement this weekend.
Hmmmmmm..... Maybe I can transplant the peonies..............

As the winds blow colder...

2007-09-11T20:31:00.000-05:00

And the nights grow longer, me thinks we really need new windows. Now I know this open up a whole other debate about original verses replacement windows, however, we do not have the original windows in our house. Ours are crappy Sears replacement windows from 1970 something, so we need new ones. Now with 26 windows that need replacing, that is quite the budget buster, if we had one. Before this winter I had hoped to have the exterior lead paint stripped off all the windows and the three windows in my dtr's room replaced and our two windows replaced. Even with the storm windows on you can see through a crack right outside. This can be quite drafty during January around 2am or so. But then we had water damage to our basement. So there went our window budget. But now I'm thinking we just need to find a way to get those windows.
I have not figured out a way to get to my daughter's windows with falling off of the little roof on the porch. (Speaking of that room, can anyone tell me an easy way to cool it off in the summer and have it retain heat in the winter? It is well insulated, except for the lovely exterior wall, but all our rooms have that issue, so I don't know why that room is such a problem. What am I missing?)
Anyway, windows, basement and bathroom. Hmmmm not a lot to do...right tell it to dear hubby. :-)

Steppin Out

2007-09-08T21:09:00.000-05:00

Well today was the walk for Gundersen Lutheran Steppin Out In Pink. What a beautiful day we had! The sun was shining and we had so many people we were running out of things! I manned the information tent with my boss for most of the day. I had so much fun and I think most of the walkers did too! It was truly amazing to see all those people! Truly amazing and truly humbling.

Progress!

2007-08-29T19:42:00.000-05:00

Well we got a dumpster, that is a lot to be said in this area right now! So we got the drywall out, the carpeting, and all the non savable stuff, which was quite a bit. My dear stepson got hit the worst. He lost a lot of his boyhood possessions, (being he is a teenager you know!) his collectible Pokemon cards, clothes, DVD player, Gameboy, we lost a lot of bedding stuff and other stuff we had stored down there. So 4 dumpster fulls later, (it was a small dumpster) and one more to go, we have most of it gone. We have used a watertight mildew and mold resistant paint on all the cement walls. We really couldn't find a "crack" in the foundation, but where the water was pouring in at was the chimney area. I think that old brick just wicked that water right in. So we probably will have to do something there. Whether we paint it with that paint, or what I have no idea. Then we need to re-insulate, re-frame, hang the drywall and stuff and get going. That will probably take us until Christmas! LOL

Suck it up

2007-08-27T21:00:00.000-05:00

Okay the past couple of posts I've been whining about the basement. Now it's time to suck it up and move on. This house has been one thing after another after another. Then with the seeping basement walls and floor it seemed like that was it. It was just too much for me to handle. We lost my stepson's room, all the carpet, half of what he owned, all the drywall and a lot of other stuff. But it's just that stuff. It took 5 days or so of me whining and being just overwhelmed with the nasty flood smell to get over it.
Today we went through another little Hicksville town to get to my son's daycare. His daycare has been closed because it had over an inch of mud in it. They had to sanitize and clean and rip out drywall and stuff. We saw people who have a right to whine. They are living in tents, in RVs, in their backyards, or their homes have just been condemned. I saw old bungalows that can never be restored. I felt I could not take pictures of such tragedy, it was just too personal. I have no right to whine. No right. No excuse my past few posts. It was just me re-prioritizing the to-do list on my old money pit here.
Here are some pictures run in the local news. This one was a park my kids play at.

We are so...

2007-08-19T20:52:00.000-05:00

We have had the most rainfall in history of Hicksville. And we are SOL. I give up. Dear hubby hasn't yet, but I give up. We simply cannot keep up. Our lovely old brick is seeping the water in and we just cannot keep up. (Governor Doyle has declared a state of emergency, but there are people that are much worse off than we are, so that is where the help needs to go now.) It is just so bad. So so bad down there. My stepson's room is just not pretty and the chimney area where the brick is, that is where it is seeping in at, well that is just, you could really sit there all night with the shop vac. You'd keep up, but still. I'm to the point I'm almost crying, I'm just so overwhelmed.
Okay I'm done venting, off to the basement to vacuum up some more water!

Well then

2007-08-19T15:18:00.000-05:00

Dear hubby is starting to slowly hate the house. Between the exterior windows, a newly found hole in an overhang roof, and a new problem I think he's reached his breaking point. In his former life he used do stuff in construction. Then he got a job at the prison where he works now. I really don't think buying an older home this time around was in his "big picture." But here we are.

It's been raining a lot here. A LOT. About 15 inches or so. Our basement sprung a leak. I really just think the concrete absorbed the water and it is just seeping in. It's not pretty down there. There's not a lot of water, but it just keeps coming. It's supposed to rain until Thursday here. We're screwed.

Beers and Ears Party

2007-08-18T21:56:00.000-05:00

Well we had our first "party" in our house! Dear hubby and I had a beers and ears party! I thought it might be a good way to meet the neighbors we don't know, which is a lot! Since dear hubby works quite a bit, as do I, and then we have our hands full with other things, you kids house repairs...stuff. Anyway! I had a bright idea to have a party, invite the people on our street and cook for them all. So we did. Dear hubby and I had time off of work together and this weekend was it.
Of course the weather couldn't be nastier.....rain rain go away PLEASE! We have the PERFECT backyard to party in and we are in the garage. But I bought a canopy and things went well! We have some really nice neighbors and they have cute kids! :-) We all had ears of corn, some grilled some boiled, I made of bunch of other goodies as well, it was so good! We had a pinata for the little kids and then we all talked and ate some more!
Oh and we might have had a few adult beverages as well!
All in all, despite the rain it was a really nice time!

Clawfoot Tub...Now What?

2007-08-15T20:31:00.000-05:00

Okay, so we loaded the tub into the back of dear hubby's old beater truck. Tore up the lovely couple's lawn, (Sorry Milt and Lorna!), and put my back wayyyy out in the process. I'm hoping to bribe some nice strong men with alcohol into getting up my stairs when it's done. Meanwhile it will sit in the back of dear hubby's truck.
Anywho, the couple we bought from, the gentleman used to be a painter. He put a couple of coats of epoxy paint on this lovely tub. I want to remove them. So I was googling the web tonight and I found this, from the Loctite website
"Epoxy is considered a permanent adhesive. However, if you need to remove it, apply acetone or Easy-Off Oven Cleaner to the epoxy and let it sit for awhile. Eventually, the epoxy will soften and can be pried from the surface with a putty knife. Remember to test the oven cleaner on an inconspicuous area before applying over a large area."
HUH?
I think I might have to try it!

Found!

2007-08-14T21:00:00.000-05:00

One clawfoot tub! Yahoo! I happened upon it doing my daily craigslist search on Sunday. The people who are selling it are holding it until tomorrow, when I come with cash. Dear hubby and I will load it into his trailer and then take it home to refinish it! I'm sooooo happy!!!
Hopefully pictures will be following within the next couple of days!

Steppin Out In Pink

2007-08-10T20:53:00.000-05:00

This post has nothing to do with my house.
This post has to do with my job.
I love my job. I love the patients I see every day.
Steppin Out In Pink is a fund-raiser that the hospital and medical center I work at puts on. We are one of the top 3 Centers for Breast Care in the USA. Yup, right here in ol' Hicksville USA. All of the funds raised stay locally to fund the research that we do for breast cancer.
Please visit the below link for more information and if you are in Hicksville, come and Step out in pink with me!
Steppin Out In Pink

Writing

2007-08-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

While stripping paint off of windows, we found some writing. I took one picture before we moved on, it was in an odd awkward place, and we're still trying to figure out what it says.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Things to do

2007-07-05T20:42:00.001-05:00

While dear hubby and I are slowly working on the windows, I have a mental list of things I really want to get accomplished. Of course we have to go slow, work at our real jobs and do things as the budget allows.
1) Finish the bathroom floor/get new bathtub. Hopefully I can find a clawfoot one soon.
2) Remodel the kitchen/tear out a wall with lead in it. It's a 12x12 and the layout sucks. I have awesome oak cabinets, but the layout just plain is crap. There's this jut out island wannabe thing and the flow is just not good. Since I bake and cook a lot the kitchen is high on my list, and therefore dear hubby's, because he hears me complain. :-)
3) Pull up carpet/strip the orgiinal hardwood floors underneath.
4) Get rid of the 70s wallpaper and put up some wainscoting.
5) Strip paint of ALL the trim/invest in infrared paint stripper.....anyone have one I can borrow? :-)
6)Get fireplace functional.
7)Repoint front porch. We will probably have to have a mason rebuild it totally.
8) Replace all the windows.
9) Put an addition on the back of the house. This won't probably be until 4 years down the road.

Okay having a list makes me feel better, nothing more is really accomplished right now, but at least I feel better.
:-)

Craft time

2007-07-03T20:19:00.000-05:00

Well summer time means more craft time. My mother is helping us out this summer and watching my daughter most days. So Nana has started craft time in the morning. This is the result of my 6 year old's latest efforts. They are kinda cute...don't ya think?

Flower pics

2007-06-30T21:18:00.000-05:00

Sorry guys....I don't have a garden blog. Bet you wish I did!
:-)
Four pictures of my purple coneflowers in bloom. I just love them!

Salvia.

Then the guessing game on the next two. Anyone?

Of course there was a huge end of the season sale today on flowers....so that meant I had to get more. Which also meant I had to dig a bed for some sun perennials, because most of my darn yard is shade thanks to the 13 plus trees that I have. So I have a really really really sore back, 6 blisters and a tiny tiny tiny patch of dug up yard that will get at least 6 hours of sun! Yeah!
Oh and does anyone have a good homemade recipe on how to kill a black ant hill??????

If it's not one thing......

2007-06-29T16:07:00.000-05:00

My refrigerator broke! YUP! BROKE! It started making a nice buzzing sound. Hmmm that's not good I said. So we defrosted it and now everything stays all warm inside. Of course it's 4 1/2 years old and we can't find the receipt since the move and we will have to pay everything to get it fixed....nice huh? At least we have an old refrigerator in the basement to put things. Even though it means 25 trips up and down the stairs for supper.
And the repair guy can't come until sometime after the 4th of July..........Must be a lot of broken down fridges out there.

Window progress

2007-06-26T20:23:00.000-05:00

I know people often wonder if we actually work on the house. Well I tell you it's hard sometimes. I will try not to make too many excuses, but it's hard.
Well this weekend I have progress to show you!
Paint actual paint on windows!
Can you believe it?
Will wonders never cease?
How nice to do they look?
Then we have the back overhang. Man is that thing a monster to strip. We didn't strip what wasn't peeling. We probably should have and we probably will regret it. But that thing is a mess to strip.
Well, we still have about 17 windows, not including the basement ones to strip. And they all kinda look like this. We can't pry the storm window out of this piano window. The storm window was sealed in there probably 15 years ago. I don't know how to get it out. That is the original storm and the original window and glass. I don't want to break either. Any suggestions would be appreciated. My daughter's room is over the porch roof. I don't know how we're going to get the storms off of her windows either. Those things are in there tight.

Yup more garden pictures

2007-06-17T09:09:00.000-05:00

Ok so with my back out I didn't get much accomplished, but here are some more of my garden pictures. I do love our backyard. Another unknown weed/plant.A baby bleeding heart. A neighbor gave me a root she couldn't grow, so I didn't have much hope for it, but I must have found the right shady spot for it. I don't know what the ground cover is though.....
An unknown climber that is planted at the base of a couple of trees. It has nice bright purple flowers.
Another unknown bush. I know they are popular around here though. I just don't know their proper name.

Plants Plants Plants

2007-06-16T04:03:00.000-05:00

Well because I can't sleep, I'm going to post some plants pics....how's that?
Ok the funky tree has a name cutleaf stagehorn sumac...thank you Neil!

So let's start with the unknown ones. This one is another one that has been bugging me. I live in zone 4 remember. I swear it is bamboo. So does my neighbor, so I'm not nuts!

Ok then's this plant/weed.

And then this one I finally identified! Virginia Waterleaf, thank you very much! Of course now mine in not in bloom, but it has the most delicate little lavender flowers on it.

Last one, another unknown, I'm pretty sure they're a flower, just don't know which ones.

Thank you

2007-06-15T21:02:00.000-05:00

Thank you dear husband for fixing the a/c. (I only had to threaten once to call the Standard Heating and A/C guy.) Now the upstairs is only a few degrees off instead, oh lets says 10-15. Man that was not fun. Summer in WI sucks. Winter in WI sucks. The only good seasons are spring and fall and they each last a month. :-)
15 years baby and we're moving. :-)
Thank you dear hubby! The children do not have to sleep neeked tonight!

Funky Tree

2007-06-14T21:45:00.001-05:00

I'm not the most garden savy gal around...shocker, I know. So when we came upon this tree last fall I was stumped. (Heck the big ol' maple stumped but hey yea that's me.)
Anyway, it's really different.
Anyone??
Please?

Windows!

2007-06-14T20:31:00.001-05:00

As most of you know stripping paint sucks. Lead paint really sucks. However it's a task that needed to be done. So dear hubby and rolled up our sleeves and tackled part of the windows. First we had to remove the storms. See the P.O.s had replaced the original windows in the 1980s I think. With what appears to be mail order Sears windows....nice.
They then realized the windows did not keep out the Wisconsin winters, so they put the storms back on. Actually they SEALED the storms back on. So we had to pry the storms off the windows first. (I almost fell out of our second story bedroom window.) We then realized we couldn't get all the windows done in 3 days. Especially the windows in my daughter's room. I have no idea how we are going to pry the storms off....but that's another post.
Anyway we got the storms off of 6 windows. Above is a before pic of the kitchen windows facing the back yard after the storm was removed.
So what did we use? Peel Away 1. Above is an after pic. We have neutralized twice and will touch up sand with a Hepa sander soon. Then we will paint!
Yippee!!!

Gardening Issues

2007-06-03T20:17:00.000-05:00

Ok this weekend was not my best weekend. So what did I turn to, my garden. I re-arranged it about 5 times. It rained on and off so I wasn't able to take pics, because when it wasn't raining I was either up to my elbows in dirt or at the gardenfest.
But I am at a loss. Half of the things popping up I don't know what the heck they are. Are they weeds? Are they plants? Should I just let them all bloom? I dunno. Unless it's ragweed, burning nettle, dandelions, or thistles, man I'm stumped.
Next weekend hopefully it won't rain and dear hubby and I can take on the start of the window paint stripping project. That means these monstrous rose bushes I have on south side of the house will have to be trimmed way back. That should be fun.

Washer Woes

2007-05-28T20:16:00.000-05:00

Well five loads of laundry and a suds soaked floor, that's what I found when I opened door number one. Couldn't shut the darn thing fast enough though.
When we bought our lovely house last fall, it came with probably one of the first front loading washers out there. I think the seal is toast on it. So dear hubby and I went out looking for a new one today.
I spent more today on a washer and dryer than I did on my first and second car. I chose not to go with a front loading washer again. I'm just too worried about that seal again, plus the one I got is HUGE. I can almost fit 2 king size comforters in there. (So this weekend when both dogs were sick would have been a really good time to have it.)
Anywho, it's to be delivered next Monday, I can hardly wait I think. I'm still kinda nauseous to have spent that much on a washer and dryer.

What no pics?

2007-05-18T21:21:00.001-05:00

Ok, so some of you have asked me, what no pics of the kiddos? Nope.
See, I'm afraid of this monster. He has green eyes that glow in the night and he harms little children for fun. His name...pedophile. I'm ok with the fact some of you think I am completely over reacting. Really I'm fine with that. See I know some things you don't know. My dear hubby works long hours with those monsters at a prison. I know things not meant for you to know. I'm fine being an overly paranoid mom. It suits me right down to the ground, because in the end all it does is protects my children.
So no, I'm afraid there will be no pictures of children on this site. Just know they are adorable children and I love them dearly and will kill any monsters that dare hurt them, just like any good momma bear would.

Neighbors are nice

2007-05-17T20:10:00.000-05:00

We moved here in Sept. My dear hubby was a long time member of another little town. He had been on the volunteer fire dept (does that tell you how small it is?) for over 13 years. My little girl had friends. It was hard to move in that respect.
It was an easy move in regards to the fact my parents, who are elderly, live in this small town. My stepson lives in this small town. This small town offers a much better school for my children, especially my son, who will really need a good school in a few years.
But you all know how it goes, keep in touch and you do, but it's harder to do. No more popping over for long talks while the kids swim or swing. No more just stopping by to say hi, hey want to stay for supper? (In our case no more feeding local law enforcement, luv you C!) Dear hubby joined this local volunteer fire department. (Yup another hick town.) So ties are starting to be established. Slowly.
We had a couple over the other night for supper. Nothing fancy. Burgers, corn, potato salad, pie. Now they brought rhubarb pie over. Rhubarb. Dear hubby loves rhubarb. I never make it. No real reason why. I love to cook and bake, I love to make things from scratch. But I never ever make rhubarb pie. Dear hubby was in heaven. Did I return an empty pie pan? I did not. In fact I kinda forgot to return the pan. In the meantime I was hit up for some of my chocolate cake for a firefighter fund raiser dinner. I found out the same couple kindly took my cake pan home with them and cleaned it. So I return a pie pan. With homemade chocolate pie to thank them.
I thought that was the end of the story. (Really I do know I ramble...sorry.)
But tonight as kiddos are getting ready to be tucked into bed, the doorbell rings. One basset house barks, one bichon yips, two parrots are screeching and one 2 yr old is screaming, door mamma! Thank you son, I hadn't noticed. Who would be at the door? Yup same person. She brought over dessert. Strawberry tarts.
I have a feeling this is going to be a long summer of dessert exchanges. I may have to get really creative........

No tub

2007-05-15T13:33:00.000-05:00

Okay so many of you are dying in suspense....right?
No we didn't get the tub. I actually got out of the doctor's office rather quickly for a change and dear hubby got up and met me over at the ReStore.
Well it's a good thing I went and saw the darn thing. It needed a little work. The outside and feet looked like they would just crumble into a pile of dust at the slightest touch.
It was still hard to leave it though. I so want a clawfoot tub.
We brought my 2 1/2 yr old son with that day. Now the ReStore has a lot of funky stuff, but he was fasinated with the blue toilet.
"Mamma, mamma, mamma lookit, boo powtie!"
Whether that's due to the fact that we have recently started potty training or the fact he has never seen a colored toilet, he could hardly keep away from the blue potty. Everyone in the ReStore thought he was hysterical, well everyone but mom that is. I was too worried he was going to try out the blue potty.
Well anyway the search for the clawfoot tub continues....one of the patients at the clinic I work at suggested calling the plumbing places and asking that if they rip any out to throw away to call me......I just might do that...

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T20:27:00.000-05:00

Well these are my present! Aren't they awesome? I got a set of six! I love them! They will go great once my kitchen is done! :-) I just love love love them! And I got some plants to go in my lovely back yard. I may complain about our house, but our back yard rocks! The P.O.s really landscaped it nice. It just beckons to me.
Anyway Happy Mother's Day!

Clawfoot tub

2007-05-07T20:54:00.000-05:00

So it's no surprise I want a clawfoot tub. Really it shouldn't come as a shock. My dear hubby and I passed one up about 2 months ago. We were 1 day late from getting almost a PERFECT one off of craiglist for...are you ready for this? $25!!!!!!!!! ARGHHHHH! I don't really care I far we would have had to drive to get it.
I've been searching high and low ever since. I've been hitting up patients at work, hey if you hear or see a clawfoot tub for sale, let me know! I've been accosting strangers at Menard's in the paint aisle. (Dear hubby shakes his head some more and walks slowly away from me, as not to draw attention to himself.) I chat up local tavern owners about clawfoot tubs used as props in their restaurant. Ya know...if you ever want to get rid of that...you just let me know, I live right over there............ I know I have it bad, but I hate our tub. I HATE IT.
So the point you might ask? While dear hubby was trying to get some sleep....thirds are hard on some people.... the ReStore people call. "Ya you put your name down on our wish list for a clawfoot tub. We got one in. Give us a call if you're still interested."
I had dear hubby calling the moment his eyes were open. The gentleman he spoke to said it was in near perfect condition and that they go fast. He suggested being there when they opened their doors at 10am on Wed, or call in on the phone and charge the tub.
Now the problem is this. Do we take the chance and buy the tub unseen at $175 over the phone? 10am to dear hubby is midnight to you and I, and dear hubby works 7 day stretches so I don't dare ask him to get up and do this for me. I will be at a doctor's appt for my father at 10am. (One that I really can't reschedule. Otherwise I WOULD!!) Or do I take the chance that at 11am they will still have the tub? I wonder how many other people they called?
What to do? What to do???????????

Exterior Window Stripping... on hold

2007-05-05T20:20:00.000-05:00

Okay, our exterior windows are alligatoring, (is that a word?) I know they have lead paint on them. (Thank god most of the exterior is brick!) I had planned on using SoyGel on them, and let's just say that didn't go too hot. So I bought me some Peel Away 1. Just the thing for do it yourself lead abatement (by the way professionals are the way to go, do not try this yourself!) I have been itching to burn a hole in my finger or blind myself with the stuff, but with the wind being so strong these days, I'm waiting a tad.
I'm keeping the youngins from eating the dirt in the flower boxes, so I'm comfortable with this idea.
Once I start the project I'm sure I won't be quite so wordy...I'll probably be eating them.
(Never try lead abatement yourself. Always check your state laws. Get your kids tested for lead levels regularly.)

Gardening...what will pop up?

2007-05-05T20:03:00.000-05:00

When we moved here in September things were just starting to die. We didn't really know what we had in the backyard except a lot of hostas. We have a lot of different ones. Below are a few I find particularly pretty.

Then we have this tree. It sits in the back corner of our lot. If I remember correctly this past fall the leaves were dark red. It looks like it's tipped over, but really it's not. It grows like that. (Please excuse the lovely patch of burning nettles, I just haven't gotten up the nerve to tackle them yet.) Does anyone know what this is?

MOLES!

2007-04-21T20:48:00.000-05:00

I've had the week from Hades, but to top it all off today we discovered MOLES! GREAT!
FANTASTIC! Our lovely back yard it now a patch of nasty paths and sink holes. I guess tomorrow I will be hitting the feed store and seeing if they have choke traps.
Yippee!

Retro Lighting

2007-04-14T20:40:00.000-05:00

Not being able to work outside this weekend despite the lovely weather has driven me nuts. We just need to let things dry out a tad first. So I'm looking around the house at what I can tackle on my own and within our budget. Then my eye spies our lighting. Our lovely retro lighting. Have you ever seen anything quite like this? I'm at a loss. Should I polish it up and keep it? Or donate it to ReStore?
Oh I forgot to mention....there's a matching one in the living room.

Meet the first babies

2007-04-11T19:14:00.000-05:00

This isn't house related, but just as important. For those of you who don't know, these are my first babies. The renovation is probably the hardest on them.

The Shower Is In!

2007-04-11T17:46:00.000-05:00

I got home from work yesterday and dear hubby had the shower in! That means no more showers in the basement for me!!!!!!!! I was so happy! Then this morning when the shower didn't leak into the kitchen ceiling I was even happier!
Now our bathroom is functional, thank goodness! We do have a narrow fit between the shower and the huge bathtub, but I have a shower!!!!!!!!!
View of shower from the doorway, do you like my towel rack? ;-)View of bathroom from the tub towards the door,
and towards the sink. Now we have to find medicine cabinets, lighting and decide on flooring.
I'm thinking of painting the vanity gold. Something funky. Maybe.

A Little Girl's Room

2007-04-10T20:19:00.000-05:00

Before.
After.
A while ago, before I knew such things as houseblogs existed, I got a bug up my butt and had to do SOMETHING to this house during the middle of winter. While the most pressing on our "to do" list is on the outside of the house, there was one more pressing matter, my then 5yr old's room. We had moved from our old house that had a totally two toned pink, (hubby called it Pepto Pink), room for her. In this house she had 1970ish wallpaper...not to her liking. So after the holidays we went to Menards, (the home improvement store of choice here, being we do not have a Lowe's) and got what we needed. We could not pull down the wallpaper, as it had lead based paint underneath. So we mudded what needed to be (we meaning hubby), and put two coats of oil based primer on it. Man is that stuff nasty to work with! I had a vision...hubby once again rolled his eyes. The top half of the wall pink, the bottom half in 8 and 10 inch stripes, light blue and lavender. Hubby has no patience for masking or detail paint work...that's fine I don't mind.
So the only thing left to do, is to put a chair rail up to divide the room. And either strip the wood work....again that lovely color CREAM, or paint it white. Which is why the chair rail isn't up yet. I'm still undecided. White would look really cute in there, but I so like the look of wood.
More of the stripes.My dtr's windows. I think these would look nice painted white, but I like the look of stained wood too.........

Our new bathroom ceiling color

2007-04-10T20:02:00.000-05:00

Okay hubby helped, and the ceiling got painted! Yeah!!! The last part was the hardest as I so did not want to get a drop on the cedar! (I'm very very picky!) And even the delicate blue masking tape and I had issues. But all in all I'm happy with it! The pictures do not do it justice, it's more aqua!
Here is a pic of the new light fixture too. I didn't really like it all that much, but it was sooo much better than the big old fluorescent nasty thing that was there. I'm liking it more each day....and yes that is our lovely leaky tub, (and No I don't know what I'm doing with it yet!!!) This is more what the color really is like. However I think if I paint this wall (the other side of the shower) this color too, it will be too much color. I'm thinking of tiling it, but for now I might paint it and then go over it with a silver glaze or rag it...something to break the color up....Hey! That silver glaze would look neat on the ceiling too.....but I don't think I want to try that one! LOL I would love to put tiny tiles on this wall, but like I've said before I've never done tile work before and it scares me. I'm woman enough to admit it too!

Bathroom floor???

2007-04-07T20:27:00.000-05:00

I'm at a loss what do with it. Tile? I've never done tile and I'm scared. Then of course I want the HEATED tile, because face it, this house seeps heat in the winter and damn it my feet are always cold. The old tile had to go. It was beige/almond/cream. Sorry....gone! Plus it was past it's prime and there was no real fix to it, especially since we had to tear up the floor to get the shower plumbed in. Now do I go for REALLY gaudy? Or kinda subtle? I change my mind more about the bathroom floor than I did about the kid's names. (And trust me that was a lot!)

The Bathroom

2007-04-06T20:37:00.000-05:00

I had gotten a little spoiled, I was used to having our own master bath at our other house. So sharing one bathroom with little children and a teenager, certainly makes for interesting mornings! That was one of the reasons we decided not to go with the traditional style bungalow bathroom. We removed the lovely, almond colored, pedestal sink and replaced it with double sink vanity. (I never took before pics....sorry!) We stayed with white, well because I hate ALMOND, CREAM AND BEIGE, and I knew I wanted to put a lot of color in the remaining white wall area. The rest of the bathroom has cedar lined walls, which is kinda cool in a sauna sorta way. So we now have a wall dividing where the shower will eventually be and I'm thinking of trying my lovely left hand at putting 1 inch turquoise /aquamarine tile there. I have a nice color paint that's a cross between turquoise and aquamarine to put on the small part of the ceiling left exposed. I think it would brighten up the room quite a bit. Of course dear hubby just shakes his head. (I'm sure he thinks I'm nuts.)

Then in the meantime we have the leaky tub......

Starting on the shower

2007-04-02T19:10:00.000-05:00

Well hubby has started on the shower! It will take a couple of weeks due to his work schedule, but hopefully will go smooth. He had to cut up the floor and found three, plus and old ceiling and original wiring....pretty scary!
Now what to do about that bathtub??????