I don't know if we'll ever get done with the work on this house. Our main goal right now is to get both upstairs bathrooms in full function. We get a bit done each weekend and I do what I can during the week in between teaching and prepping for my labs and doing all the running around for the boys each day.
Davis decided to run for student body office. We'll see if he is elected next Wednesday. This is his campaign shot. Seems like he's reaching out to poke you right in the chest. Maybe its a "reach out and touch someone" campaign, maybe its just rude to point.
After 10 years of moves I am getting rid of all the boxes. Many of these boxes came from Memphis to New Jersey with my brother Scott 11 years ago and we took them for our move to Los Angeles. Then we moved to S.Pas by Garfield Park and then to our little place on the cul-de-sac. I quote Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce when I say, "I will move no more forever dang-it!" I put a notice on craigslist about free moving boxes and left them in the driveway. They are all gone now.
And then the bathroom trouble heated up. The master bath had no floor because we tore out the carpet and needed serious calking because of the gaps in the tile wall/shower floor junction as shown in the previous post. We were using the hall bath for everyone until we had the master bath fixed up. But then I noticed water on a box in the garage, looked up and saw the wall board (garage ceiling) directly under the hall bath was soaked. We stopped using it and started to get the master bath up and running. After lots of scraping and cleaning, Chris caulked our shower and is 3/4 of the way through getting the vinyl installed. First he laid a roll out cement board substitute over the plywood which smooths out the surface and gives it a good bond with the vinyl. Then he put the vinyl in the shower area before he was exhausted (at about 9pm). Its a big improvement over the plywood and we all using it now until the hall bath is back in order.
Now for the hard stuff. How do I get everyone to put their shoes away instead of leaving them inside the front door at the foot of the stairs? There are usually 3x this many pairs of shoes piled here and pairs of dirty socks. A lovely greeting for any guest. Nathaniel's shoes come with the extra bonus of being filled with sand from the school playground. He has started emptying them outside instead of on the bottom step, so that is an improvement.
And I have to do something about painting the hall bath. It is now a pink sponge-painted nightmare. I would naturally go with a cream colored paint but Chris and the boys wanted something a little more interesting. I tested out some of the colors we have already in semi-gloss. I have a terracotta - it looks positively orange. The "portrait gallery red" looks more like "haunted house burgandy" and a mix of the two is a bit too mauve. Maybe a mix that is mostly terracotta and a little PGred will turn out to be a Taos tile roof color that would be OK. It would be best if it didn't clash with the pink and cream floor tiles. It will be a while before we get to tearing them out and replacing them. The floor tiles are laid directly on the plywood subfloor so the grout cracks and comes out in chunks because the floor flexes. I just bought big bath mats to cover it all for now.
We could just leave it how it is and call it the "Rothko Room". I think he used house paint on his paintings. I wonder if he used semi-gloss or eggshell...
The plumber (from the house warranty company) said it wasn't a leaking pipe, but that the caulk leaked. So, I spend a day scraping old caulk out. There were a few different types of caulk and the top layer was silicone which meant I had to cut it away with a razor blade, try to shave it as close to the tile as I could, and then get the rest off with a silicone-removing chemical. I pulled the shower door frame out so Chris could caulk all of the tub/tile seams and then he re-installed doors. The hall bath will be usable again tomorrow. We'll watch to make sure there is no more leaking.
Oh yeah. Then we get to patch the wall torn up by the plumber. By then I hope to decide what to do about the paint.
Other odds and ends from the house: My visiting teacher cleaned up all the glass light covers. Now they are sparkly instead of gross. What a nice thing to do.
The stained glass chandelier in the loft cleaned up nice an pretty. I just have to figure out an outlet that will work near enough to it.
The sunflower chandelier needs a new fixture. Chris is working on it, but we keep forgetting to get a new cord when we go to the hardware store.
I checked through Nathaniel's old backpack before I put it in the pile to go to the DI and I found all his student cards since he was in Kindergarten. Pretty cute. Glad I didn't throw them out.
When we get the yard cleaned up it will be great for bbq's by the firepit. It is already fun without it being cleaned up.
Davis decided to run for student body office. We'll see if he is elected next Wednesday. This is his campaign shot. Seems like he's reaching out to poke you right in the chest. Maybe its a "reach out and touch someone" campaign, maybe its just rude to point.
After 10 years of moves I am getting rid of all the boxes. Many of these boxes came from Memphis to New Jersey with my brother Scott 11 years ago and we took them for our move to Los Angeles. Then we moved to S.Pas by Garfield Park and then to our little place on the cul-de-sac. I quote Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce when I say, "I will move no more forever dang-it!" I put a notice on craigslist about free moving boxes and left them in the driveway. They are all gone now.
And then the bathroom trouble heated up. The master bath had no floor because we tore out the carpet and needed serious calking because of the gaps in the tile wall/shower floor junction as shown in the previous post. We were using the hall bath for everyone until we had the master bath fixed up. But then I noticed water on a box in the garage, looked up and saw the wall board (garage ceiling) directly under the hall bath was soaked. We stopped using it and started to get the master bath up and running. After lots of scraping and cleaning, Chris caulked our shower and is 3/4 of the way through getting the vinyl installed. First he laid a roll out cement board substitute over the plywood which smooths out the surface and gives it a good bond with the vinyl. Then he put the vinyl in the shower area before he was exhausted (at about 9pm). Its a big improvement over the plywood and we all using it now until the hall bath is back in order.
Now for the hard stuff. How do I get everyone to put their shoes away instead of leaving them inside the front door at the foot of the stairs? There are usually 3x this many pairs of shoes piled here and pairs of dirty socks. A lovely greeting for any guest. Nathaniel's shoes come with the extra bonus of being filled with sand from the school playground. He has started emptying them outside instead of on the bottom step, so that is an improvement.
And I have to do something about painting the hall bath. It is now a pink sponge-painted nightmare. I would naturally go with a cream colored paint but Chris and the boys wanted something a little more interesting. I tested out some of the colors we have already in semi-gloss. I have a terracotta - it looks positively orange. The "portrait gallery red" looks more like "haunted house burgandy" and a mix of the two is a bit too mauve. Maybe a mix that is mostly terracotta and a little PGred will turn out to be a Taos tile roof color that would be OK. It would be best if it didn't clash with the pink and cream floor tiles. It will be a while before we get to tearing them out and replacing them. The floor tiles are laid directly on the plywood subfloor so the grout cracks and comes out in chunks because the floor flexes. I just bought big bath mats to cover it all for now.
We could just leave it how it is and call it the "Rothko Room". I think he used house paint on his paintings. I wonder if he used semi-gloss or eggshell...
The plumber (from the house warranty company) said it wasn't a leaking pipe, but that the caulk leaked. So, I spend a day scraping old caulk out. There were a few different types of caulk and the top layer was silicone which meant I had to cut it away with a razor blade, try to shave it as close to the tile as I could, and then get the rest off with a silicone-removing chemical. I pulled the shower door frame out so Chris could caulk all of the tub/tile seams and then he re-installed doors. The hall bath will be usable again tomorrow. We'll watch to make sure there is no more leaking.
Oh yeah. Then we get to patch the wall torn up by the plumber. By then I hope to decide what to do about the paint.
Other odds and ends from the house: My visiting teacher cleaned up all the glass light covers. Now they are sparkly instead of gross. What a nice thing to do.
The stained glass chandelier in the loft cleaned up nice an pretty. I just have to figure out an outlet that will work near enough to it.
The sunflower chandelier needs a new fixture. Chris is working on it, but we keep forgetting to get a new cord when we go to the hardware store.
I checked through Nathaniel's old backpack before I put it in the pile to go to the DI and I found all his student cards since he was in Kindergarten. Pretty cute. Glad I didn't throw them out.
When we get the yard cleaned up it will be great for bbq's by the firepit. It is already fun without it being cleaned up.
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