Tag: home improvement

Staycation Halfway Highlights

This time last week I was looking forward to getting out of this house – the one we’ve been sheltering in place in since mid-March for a week-long trip to a BnB in the Flint Hills.

My original plan included dusting off my telescope in the hope of some dark sky observing, only I forgot to check the moon phase calendar before booking the cabin. Full moon occurs this week (tomorrow if I remember correctly).

But despite all the stress of participating (as a team lead) in a hackathon (and placing second), escaping our home however briefly just wasn’t in the stars.

Terry’s health has been a problem for several months now, including a trip to the hospital last month for a few days (that turned out to be a bad drug reaction and interaction). The hospital food also did a number on his digestive system and he’s still suffering weeks later. So at the last possible moment, I cancelled the trip (rescheduled it for the new moon in mid-April 2021) and resigned myself to a week of home improvement and maintenance projects.

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Summer Arrives

Summer Arrives

A Day Early and Sunshine Short

The last two to three weeks have felt more like Summer than today does. Yesterday, we had the first cloudy slightly rainy day since May and right now, outside my window, the clouds have come down to Earth. I’m not complaining, really! I needed a break from sunshine, humidity and mid-90s temperatures. But enough about the weather.

The flowers and plants I planted earlier in the Spring continue to bloom. I’m a terrible tender though and frequently forget to water early in the morning. When your commute is a matter of seconds from ‘home’ to ‘office,’ you (meaning I) tend to dive right into work. Despite evidence to the contrary, I remain extremely busy with projects and support for my employer, who is thankfully returning furloughed employees now. I even have plans to return to the office for a half day late next week; mostly because my laptop has decided to take an involuntary vacation so it needs a more permanent and reliable replacement. That and I have a major upgrade to perform so being on site means no risk of power or internet outages in the home office.

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A Cold Dark Oven

I’m thankful for many things this Thanksgiving.  Oddly, I’m somewhat thankful even for my cold, dark oven.

20151126_062512

I’m thankful that I won’t be on my feet for hours today prepping and baking for a family gathering.  For the first time in I don’t know how many years, I will not be basting and roasting a turkey.  I won’t be making more stuffing (I already succumbed last week and made a huge batch of stuffing because I couldn’t help myself). I might not escape baking entirely today, though, as I may break down and make Sticky Buns because it’s a TRADITION!

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Main Bathroom Remodel Marathon Finish Line in Sight

This is a shout-out to my hubby, Terry, who has worked tirelessly for months (nearly a year) to remodel our main bathroom.  We saw the light at the end of the tunnel last week with the arrival of the final piece in the puzzle:

20140521_061703This new vanity, the second one ordered after the first one was returned because of defects, weighs close to or over two hundred pounds, without the granite top. Continue reading “Main Bathroom Remodel Marathon Finish Line in Sight”

Stuff « L.E. Modesitt, Jr. – The Official Website

http://www.lemodesittjr.com/2014/04/29/stuff/

I laughed but I almost cried as well.   This is so true.  I can’t claim to be neat and organized as Modesitt does (except digitally) but I can confirm that remodeling your house while you are living in it is a challenge.

Here’s just one small example of what I’ve been living with for about ten months now.  This is the family room, formerly known as the ‘band’ room (for about ten years), being transformed into our new entertainment home theatre room:

band room dismantling
The ‘before’ picture.

Yes, our ‘stuff’ included moving a piano. Now here’s the ‘after’ video that starts in the finished family room and tours some of the other remodeling we’ve done:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lInSSlxEMrY?rel=0]

We are oh so close to a milestone in our home improvement project(s).  We are ordering the vanity and mirror for the bathroom this week.

I can’t wait to have my main bathroom fully functional again after so many months.